Community CarShare was a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, carsharing

co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

in southern

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 C ...

, that was founded in 1998. It ran into financial trouble and was acquired by Vrtucar on 27 March 2018. They operated in

Waterloo Region The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumfr ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

, St. Catharines,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and

Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Census, making it ...

. The co-op was founded in 1998, as Ontario's first carsharing program, under the name The People's Car Co-operative Inc.. At the 2014 AGM, the members of the co-op voted to change the incorporated name to Community CarShare Co-operative, Inc.

History

Founding years 1998-2005

Community CarShare began in Waterloo Region on April 1, 1998. It was started by a group of 10 friends who had a car donated to them, but didn't want to deal with the costs of car ownership. The first car was located in the City of Waterloo, near the corner of Bridgeport and Peppler street.

Local expansion 2005-2009

In Fall 2007, the co-op expanded its service into Cambridge when it added a tenth vehicle to the fleet. As part of the growth into Cambridge, the organization updated its operating name from The People's Car Co-op to Grand River CarShare, to reflect the environmental benefits of carsharing and to localize the name of the co-op.

Province wide expansion 2009-2014

In April 2009, the co-op's geographic borders expanded again when a group of Hamiltonians decided to join the co-op and expand service to that city under the co-op's second operating name, Hamilton CarShare. In less than five months, 50 new members were recruited, and three vehicles were launched in Hamilton in September 2009. Expansion to St. Catharines and Guelph in 2013 led to the adoption of the name Community CarShare in order to simplify the use of the name and convey the values of the organization. There are currently 76 vehicles available to members, with the majority of them located in Kitchener-Waterloo. The fleet includes many vehicles such as the

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

Yaris, Corolla, Matrix, Prius C, plug-in Prius, Tacoma, the fully electric

Mitsubishi i-MiEV The Mitsubishi i-MiEV (MiEV is an acronym for ''Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle'') is a five-door hatchback electric car produced in the 2010s by Mitsubishi Motors, and is the electric version of the Mitsubishi i. Rebadged variants of ...

, a

Ford Transit Connect The Ford Transit Connect is a compact panel van sold by Ford since 2002. Developed by Ford of Europe, the model line replaced sedan-based vans ( Ford Escort and Ford Courier vans) with a dedicated commercial vehicle platform. The model lin ...

cargo van, Mazda 5 station wagon, and Dodge Caravan mini van.

Rural expansion

Community CarShare expanded to rural Elmira (population ~8,000 people) north of Waterloo. All vehicles in the fleet equipped with winter tires and can be delivered to a specific location.

Sale

As the original Ontario region carsharing service, it was sold to Canada's largest one, Communauto, and its Ontario subsidiary, Vrtucar, on 27 March 2018.

References

External links

Official site
{{Vehicle rental brands 1998 establishments in Ontario 2018 disestablishments in Ontario Carsharing Defunct transport organizations based in Canada Former cooperatives of Canada Kitchener, Ontario Non-profit organizations based in Ontario Organizations established in 1998 Organizations disestablished in 2018 Car rental companies of Canada