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Carsharing Grows

The removal of limits on the number of flexible carshare permits is back at Infrastructure and Environment Ctte's meeting on June 11th in much the same form as last year.


A complete waste of 15 months delay.

Of note from the report:

1749049173045.png


Also...

1749049230042.png


The demand is there...........lets get this approved, ASAP.
 
Yeah, I use Enterprise CarShare and sometimes it's difficult to find cars the day-of on weekends in the core, but booking well in advance (even just a few days) is easy. I can't imagine removing this cap would have much of an impact on traffic - certainly not as much impact as Uber or food delivery services have had.
 
Northern Light said:
The removal of limits on the number of flexible carshare permits is back at Infrastructure and Environment Ctte's meeting on June 11th in much the same form as last year.


A complete waste of 15 months delay.

Of note from the report:

View attachment 656308

Also...

View attachment 656309

The demand is there...........lets get this approved, ASAP.
Click to expand...
Do we have stats on Montreal usage. Both Communauto and I think a new service - LEO. You see the vehicles everywhere, it is darn easy to sign up and sign in. I would totally agree with @evandyk , if I lived again in the city, my car would be a thing of the past....well providing there was flag stop GO services to Campbellville.....
 
just east of the creek said:
Do we have stats on Montreal usage. Both Communauto and I think a new service - LEO. You see the vehicles everywhere, it is darn easy to sign up and sign in. I would totally agree with @evandyk , if I lived again in the city, my car would be a thing of the past....well providing there was flag stop GO services to Campbellville.....
Click to expand...

The total fleet in Montreal is (Communauto) is 4,800 vehicles, not sure how many are flexible.

The total fleet in Toronto should be around 1,500, I think. (It was just over 1,300 in fall '24, and they've added cars)

Total membership in Montreal is: 80,000+

Total membership in Toronto is: 32,000+

In terms of comparable coverage, i would suggest Toronto has roughly 50% more available customers.

So if Toronto achieved Montreal per capita usage levels, you'd be looking at ~120,000 members, and probably in the range of 7,000 vehicles.

A net gain of 5,500 carshare vehicles should factor as roughly 50,000 fewer private vehicles.
 
Councillor Colle deferred it to September:

1. Infrastructure and Environment Committee defer Item IE22.3-Revised Free-Floating Car-Share Program, and direct the General Manager, Transportation Service, to report to the September 26, 2025 Infrastructure and Environment Committee meeting on the findings of the consultations including any possible solutions for identified high-demand areas that have taken place as part of the forthcoming supplementary report on the Revised Free-Floating Car-Share policy.

Ridiculous and only delaying what should have happened a year ago.

Some time ago a rep from Communauto spoke about how for each weekend in the summer every car was reserved and people were paying for Thursday and/or Friday to make sure they had a car for a weekend trip. Demand will just continue to explode as more people without cars move into housing with no parking.
 
txlseries4 said:
Councillor Colle deferred it to September:

1. Infrastructure and Environment Committee defer Item IE22.3-Revised Free-Floating Car-Share Program, and direct the General Manager, Transportation Service, to report to the September 26, 2025 Infrastructure and Environment Committee meeting on the findings of the consultations including any possible solutions for identified high-demand areas that have taken place as part of the forthcoming supplementary report on the Revised Free-Floating Car-Share policy.

Ridiculous and only delaying what should have happened a year ago.

Some time ago a rep from Communauto spoke about how for each weekend in the summer every car was reserved and people were paying for Thursday and/or Friday to make sure they had a car for a weekend trip. Demand will just continue to explode as more people without cars move into housing with no parking.
Click to expand...

I agree with you, this is utterly, head-explodingly stupid.

Some people on Council, and Colle is increasingly one of them are just too exhausting.
 
Yet another kick at the can for growing carsharing with a report to the September meeting of Infrastructure and Environment Ctte:


There are assorted tweaks, but the most notable may be that while they still proposed to lift the one company limit of 1,000 flexible carshare permits, (currently 1,000), staff no longer propose to eliminate (or even increase)
the overall limit of 2,000.

As there is only one company currently using flex permits (Communauto) and they currently use 800 or so....... I don't have a near-term issue with this. But if the City were to attract a competitor, we would clearly need more permits.

I think the change should at least give the GM Flexibility to increase the number of permits to as much as 4,000 for this reason.

Still, if we just get this through, it will be progress, if diminished and late.
 
That's pretty frustrating. It seems like they're concerned that despite their growth, adding more vehicles to their fleet is not good for their bottom line.

I do agree that a competitor would be ideal, but are ZipCar/Enterprise CarShare just maintaining the status quo, or are they at the cap?
 
JJTheJetPln said:
That's pretty frustrating. It seems like they're concerned that despite their growth, adding more vehicles to their fleet is not good for their bottom line.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure who you're discussing here.

Communauto certainly wants to add to their fleet.

Its a matter of City permission with respect to the Flex permits

JJTheJetPln said:
I do agree that a competitor would be ideal, but are ZipCar/Enterprise CarShare just maintaining the status quo, or are they at the cap?
Click to expand...

They're growing but they don't require city permits, because they do the Flex thing. They do fixed parking spots.
 
No objections or concerns raised at IEC so it passes and it heads to City Council. Communauto's Toronto branch manager was asked by Chair Fletcher if he could provide staff demand stats/info before council meets.
 
Passed at Council with no questions or speakers. 22-1, and to nobody's surprise, Holyday against.

Agenda Item History 2025.IE24.2

Agenda Item History 2025.IE24.2
secure.toronto.ca

IE24.2 - Revised Free-Floating Car-Share Program​

Committee Recommendations​

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:

1. City Council authorize the designation of free-floating car-share service areas outside permit parking areas, and delegate final decision to Community Council on the establishment of free-floating car-share service areas and authorize the necessary amendments to Chapter 27, Council Procedures to give effect.

2. City Council approve the amendments to City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 925 Permit Parking, and City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 950, Traffic and Parking, to allow for an expanded free-floating car-share program outside of permit parking areas / streets, generally as outlined in Attachment 1 to the revised report (September 23, 2025) from the General Manager, Transportation Services.

3. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to introduce the necessary bills to give effect to City Council's decision and City Council authorize the City Solicitor to make any necessary clarifications, refinements, minor modifications, technical amendments, or by-law amendments as may be identified by the City Solicitor, in consultation with the General Manager, Transportation Services in order to give effect to Recommendations 1 and 2 above.


Summary​

City Council on June 26 and 27, 2024, referred Item IE13.4 to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee for further consideration with the Parking Strategy in the first quarter of 2025, and requested the General Manager, Transportation Services, in consultation with other appropriate City Divisions, to report on the following:

a. the impact of allowing an expanded free-floating car-share program outside of permit parking areas / streets in the development of the Parking Strategy;

b. the impact of allowing an expanded free-floating car-share program outside of permit parking areas / streets on winter maintenance operations;

c. the possibility to continue to enforce parking regulations when car-share vehicles are in use;

d. the options for free-floating car-share vehicles dropping off and picking up off-street parking arrangements, rather than solely in public locations designated for permit parking under Municipal Code Chapter 925; and

e. the development of a communications strategy on the expansion of the free-floating car-share program outside of permit parking area / streets.
 
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