Communauto is a Canadian

carsharing Carsharing or car sharing (AU, NZ, CA, TH, & US) or car clubs (UK) is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. It differs from traditional car rental in that the owners of the cars are often pri ...

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

based in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Ontario, Canada, that in fifteen Canadian cities and Paris, France. As of March 2018 it had 40,000 users, and a fleet of approximately 2,000 free-floating and station-based vehicles. Communauto provides automobile reservations to its members, billable by the hour or day; members may have to pay a monthly or annual membership fee in addition to car reservation charges. Members can reserve vehicles with Communauto's mobile app, online, or by phone at any time, either immediately or up to a month in advance. Communauto members have automated access to the cars using an access card which unlocks the door; or using the mobile application. The keys are already located inside. Communauto may charge a deposit, an annual fee, and a reservation charge, depending on the plan chosen. Fuel, parking, insurance, and maintenance are included in the price.

History

Communauto was founded in Quebec City in 1994 by Benoît Robert, its current CEO. Cycling advocate and environmentalist

Claire Morissette Claire Morissette (April 6, 1950 – July 20, 2007) was a Canadian cycling advocate who fought for equal cyclists' rights in Montreal since 1976. She was a member of the group Le Monde à Bicyclette. Notable were the stunts they organized to raise ...

played a major role in its evolution starting in 1995, when Communauto established itself in Montreal as a private company. As of 2017, the company had close to 50,000 users and over 2,000 vehicles. Communauto acquired Paris, France-based Mobizen in 2012, merged with Ottawa-based VRTUCAR in 2016, and acquired CarShare Atlantic in 2018. Communauto's goal is to provide a convenient and economical alternative to owning a car. In June 2022, Communauto expanded to the city of

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

Membership

Communauto has various membership plans for its members; they are suited for different kinds of users, from infrequent users to frequent users.

Services

Communauto offers two kinds of vehicles: round-trip vehicles and Flex vehicles. Round-trip vehicles must be returned to their station after use, and are best suited for planned trips. FLEX vehicles, only offered in some cities, can be picked up and dropped off within a designated area. They are best suited for spontaneous or one-way trips.

Fleet

Communauto has various vehicles available in its fleet. However, the majority of vehicles available are compact and sub-compact vehicles. Communauto UdeM

Common vehicles in the Communauto fleet

Sedan

* Toyota Corolla (sedan)

Hatchback

Toyota Yaris The is a supermini/ subcompact car sold by Toyota since 1999, replacing the Starlet and Tercel. Up to 2019, Toyota had used the Yaris nameplate on export versions of various Japanese-market models, with some markets receiving the same vehicl ...

* Toyota Prius C * Kia Rio *

Toyota Prius V The Toyota Prius ''v'' (for versatile), also named Prius α (pronounced as Alpha) in Japan, and Prius+ in Europe and Singapore, is a hybrid gasoline-electric automobile produced by Toyota introduced in Japan in May 2011, in the U.S. in October 2 ...

* Nissan LEAF *

Kia e-Niro The Kia Niro ( ko, 기아 니로) is a compact crossover SUV (C-segment) manufactured by Kia since 2016. It is an electrification-focused vehicle, offering three versions: Hybrid electric vehicle, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and Battery electric ve ...

SUV

Hyundai Venue The Hyundai Venue ( ko, 현대 베뉴) is a subcompact crossover SUV manufactured by the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai, as a tightly related variant of the Kia Soul sharing the Hyundai Accent platform. As Hyundai's smallest global crosso ...

City coverage and partnerships

Communauto operates as Communauto (VRTUCAR) in six cities in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Waterloo, Hamilton, London, Guelph, Kingston, and Toronto. It operates as Communauto in five cities in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Montreal,

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

and

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...

, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Ottawa, and Paris, France. Communauto's users-per-vehicle ratio can rise in winter to 20 users per vehicle and drops to about 15 users per vehicle in summer. In Paris, France, the company signed a partnership in May 2017 with the local public-transport operator,

RATP Group RATP may refer to: Transportation: * RATP Group, or ', a public transport operator based in Paris, France * RATP Iași (), a transit operator responsible for public transportation in Iași, Romania * RATP Ploiești (), a transit operator responsi ...

. As of May 2019, 200 cars are available across 100 sites located in Paris and close suburbs. In 2023, Peg City Car Co-op, a car sharing service operating in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Manitoba, announced a partnership with Communauto to handle the creation of the Peg City Car Co-op app.

Impact

The impact of carsharing in Quebec was evaluated in a study from Communauto and conducted by Tecsult Inc. in 2006. With an estimated 168,000 tons of emissions eliminated per year as a result of carsharing.

Cyber Attack

On January 8, 2021, Communauto notified customers that it has been the victim of a cyber attack. CEO Benoit Robert assured that no potentially sensitive data including account passwords or credit card information were accessed.

References

External links

Communauto official website
{{Vehicle rental brands 1994 establishments in Quebec Carsharing Companies based in Montreal Transport companies established in 1994 Privately held companies of Canada Transport companies of Canada Canadian companies established in 1994