Vancouver City Council to consider ways to expand peer-to-peer car share | Daily Hive

Turo carshare app (Shutterstock)

The availability of peer-to-peer car share services could be aided by potential new measures by the City of Vancouver that support its operations and expansion.

A motion by independent city councillor Lisa Dominato that is scheduled to be deliberated on this week essentially calls for services like Turo to be treated in a similar way as Evo and Modo.

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After establishing its first Canadian presence in 2016 in other provinces, Turo first launched in BC in June 2020, shortly after it was able to secure ICBC insurance coverage for its unique business model of car share.

Unlike traditional car share companies, San Francisco-based Turo provides owners of private vehicles with the ability to add their vehicle to the company’s car share system. This provides car owners with the ability to earn some income while their car is not in use, and at the same time it allows Turo to become more nimble by not having to own, operate, and maintain its own fleet.

As Turo sources its vehicles from private owners, it also enables the service to provide a wide range of make and model choice to members through its online- and app-based platforms.

“What I see is the opportunity here to simply offer another shared mobility option for residents,” said Dominato in an interview with Daily Hive Urbanized.

Evo, the remaining car share giant in Vancouver, has expanded its fleet significantly since the departures of Car2Go/ShareNow and Zipcar in 2020, but there is still a large gap in fleet size coverage and capacity.

“Many people don’t want to own a vehicle, and I think that’s a great thing. But on occasion, they do need a vehicle, whether it be [for] running errands or going on a trip. These vehicles are your neighbours’, your friends’, and they are already in the city, and it provides an alternative option when you need a vehicle.”

She adds that Turo also offers electric-battery vehicles, which effectively opens the opportunity for drivers to try such a zero-emission vehicle.

Dominato’s motion calls on city staff to amend existing policies and regulations that may not fully account for the growth of services like Turo, including supporting access for peer-to-peer car share parking in “resident only” and “no parking except with permit” areas, and transportation hubs such as Vancouver International Airport, Pacific Central train station, and at public transit hubs, as well as enabling parking for peer-to-peer car share electric-battery vehicles, and adding Turo and other peer-to-peer car share services to the city’s website.

Other possibilities could include partnering on charging stations throughout the city for electric-battery vehicles, and listing city-owned vehicles on peer-to-peer car sharing platforms and allowing city employees to use peer-to-peer cars for business-related travel.

If approved by city council, the motion would direct city staff to engage with Turo and other peer-to-peer car share companies, and explore opportunities for encouraging these services under city policy. City staff would report back with their findings and recommendations in the second quarter of 2022.

According to Turo, private vehicles in Canada were used just 5% of the time in 2021 — just a 1% increase from 2019 — and carry an average annual operating cost of $4,937. Within Canada, car owners who put their vehicles into the peer-to-peer fleet earn an average of $798 per month.

All car owners, called “Turo hosts,” are required to clean and disinfect their cars before each trip.

Based on the company’s recent survey, 81% of car owners feel it would be impossible to not have a car, and the same percentage has no plan to stop owning a car in the future. The reasons to have a car include convenience (31%), followed by commuting (30%), and the desire for freedom (17%).

“Our findings shed light on a paradox when it comes to car ownership,” said Cedric Mathieu, vice president and head of Turo in Canada.

“It’s clear that car ownership is still a central part of Canadian life, but these cars largely go unused while costing owners thousands of dollars a year. Car ownership is an inefficient model, but the alternatives are limited for Canadians who still need access to a vehicle.”

Turo currently has 1.2 million members in Canada, and a fleet size of 55,000 vehicles in more than 350 cities in BC, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia.

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