Press Release - Communauto Victoriaville

“ Our government is proud to support the City of Laval, which is implementing various concrete initiatives to support the reduction of GHG emissions in its territory. This subsidy is not only a step in the right direction, but it will also help to encourage the participation of new citizens and the use of this service, as well as promote the deployment of new carsharing stations throughout Laval. ”
– Benoit Charette, Minister of the Environment, the Fight against climate change, Wildlife and Parks and minister responsible for the Laurentides region

“We are very proud to diversify the mobility options available to the people of Laval. We are offering an efficient and accessible option to reduce solo driving, while taking into account the daily travel realities of Laval residents. Several new stations set up on municipal land will be tested in a pilot project between the City and the company, with the new stations becoming permanent if there is sufficient interest. It is with the aim of offering sustainable and practical alternatives that we also invite people to use the subsidy we have put in place to promote the development of carsharing.”

— Christine Poirier, Municipal Councillor for Duvernay-Pont-Viau and in charge of issues related to land use planning

“Thanks to the pilot project of the City and the expansions planned by Communauto in Chomedey and Laval-des-Rapides, the carsharing offering in Laval will immediately double, increasing from 26 to 52 cars distributed across 33 different service points. This initiative, driven by the innovative vision of the City of Laval, marks just the beginning of a development phase for carsharing. It aims to remove an increased number of cars from circulation, reduce their use, while simultaneously offering a wider variety of mobility solutions to the residents of Laval.” 

— Marco Viviani, vice president of strategic development, Communauto

Highlights

The financial aid program aims to partially reimburse the costs of using a carsharing service. Thus, each citizen of Laval is eligible for a maximum of two $250 subsidies, for a total of $500. Anyone residing in Laval and who has joined a carsharing service after January 1, 2024, can apply. The application form will be available to the public starting May 6, on the city’s website.
 
The expansion of Communauto in Laval involves the addition of 16 additional vehicles distributed across 9 locations, including Laval-des-Rapides and Chomedey.

As part of the pilot project between the City and Communauto, 10 vehicles will be added at 10 locations in the peripheral areas of Laval.

Finally, the project funded by the Government of Quebec involves leasing 10 hybrid cars by the City, which will be used by staff during the day and available to the public in the evenings and on weekends.

Until July 31, 2024, the citizens of Laval can get a $45 discount on registration for the Open Plus or any of the Value plans, with the promo code LAVAL45, valid only on the first year of subscription, for any first-time registration to the service, provided all eligibility conditions are met. Laval residents are invited to sign up online now at laval.communauto.com to take advantage of this exclusive offer.

Exo adds to the complementarity of sustainable transport modes by offering parking spaces reserved for Communauto vehicles at the Vimont and Sainte-Rose train stations. Users of the suburban train line 12 – Saint-Jérôme will be able to complete their journey aboard a Communauto.

About Laval climat plan

The City of Laval has adopted the Climate plan – Horizon 2035 to reduce its GHG emissions by 33% and increase its resilience to climate hazards. The enhancement measures of the carsharing service complement the actions already in place for reducing GHG emissions, such as financial aids for replacing oil heating systems or for promoting bike sharing.

About the 2030 Plan for a Green Economy

This project benefits from financial aid from the Government of Quebec, as part of the measure 4.2.1.2 “Accelerate local climate transition” of the Plan for a Green Economy 2030 (PEV 2030). Let us recall that the 2023-2028 Implementation Plan (PMO) of PEV 2030 aims for all municipalities in Quebec to have assessed their climate risks and to have a climate plan by 2030.

More information about the future stations

List of the 10 planned locations in the peripheral sectors of Laval as part of the pilot project.

Addresses of future stations in the peripheral sectors of Laval as part of the pilot project.

Usine de filtration Ste-Rose (Water Interpretation Center): 12 Hotte Street, Laval, QC H7L 2R3

Community Center for Youth (Old Ste-Rose): 155 Blvd Je-Me-Souviens, Laval, QC H7L 1V6

Ste-Rose Station (with exo): 99 Blvd Sainte-Rose E, Laval, QC H7H 1N9

Auteuil Community Center: 6200 Boulevard des Laurentides, Laval, QC H7H 1N5

Lausanne Park: 324 Lausanne Street, Laval, QC H7K 3V4

Vimont Station (with Exo): 150 Bellerose Blvd W, Laval, QC H7K 3B6

Vimont Sector: location to be confirmed

Raymond-Fortin Community Center: 1885 Dumouchel Ave, Laval, QC H7S 1J7

Sablon Centre: 755 Sablon Road, Laval, QC H7W 4H5

Martin St-Louis Arena: 655 Sylvie Street, Laval, QC H7X 2X2

Additional information:

Learn more about the financial aid offered by the City of Laval.

Consult Laval climate plan.

– 30 –

Information:
Marco Viviani,
Vice President, Strategic Development, Communauto,
drp@communauto.ca

Montreal, March 24, 2022. Communauto, the largest carsharing service in Canada and the oldest in North America, is planning substantial growth in its vehicle fleet after an exceptional 30% increase in the number of members and overall usage of the service in 2021.

To meet this demand in 2022, Communauto has ordered 1,300 new vehicles from manufacturers to add to the service before summer, despite car industry supply issues which could last until 2023.

The largest increase in the fleet will be in Montreal, where 800 vehicles will be added (200 in stations and 600 for the FLEX service). In total, more than 3,000 vehicles will be available to Montrealers by the end of the summer.

“Communauto is responding to the significant growth in demand we saw in 2021 by planning a major increase to our service. This growing demand demonstrates the importance of carsharing as an urban mobility solution that is more sustainable and efficient than the personal car. It also opens the door to major challenges: first, the difficulty of the automotive industry to guarantee the number of cars ready to deliver and second, the significant delays between orders and deliveries. We experienced this in 2021 and we fear that it could also affect the supply this year, despite our efforts. One thing is certain, Communauto has the capacity and the commitment to guarantee the availability of our service and to meet the growing needs of citizens who wish to adopt carsharing, in combination with other public transit and active mobility options,” states Benoit Robert, president and founder of Communauto.

“The City of Montreal welcomes the expansion of the Communauto fleet with great enthusiasm. Our administration has done more for shared mobility than any other. From the start, we have resolutely positioned ourselves as an essential partner, always with a view to offering more mobility options to Montrealers, and to decongest the city. Driven by this desire, we have made several important regulatory changes to promote carsharing and self-service vehicles in recent years, and we intend to continue on this path, in collaboration with the boroughs, in order to allow an equitable distribution of the service throughout the city,” added Sophie Mauzerolle, member responsible for transportation and mobility on the executive committee of the City of Montreal.

In Quebec City, Toronto, Halifax, Ottawa, Hamilton, Calgary, Edmonton and Paris

In Quebec City, there will be more than 300 cars available with the addition of approximately 45 cars, including 15 for the FLEX service (+25%).

Toronto will not be outdone, as the company is also planning a significant increase to its fleet, with 250 new vehicles (+60%). Similarly, 200 vehicles will go to Halifax, Ottawa, southwestern Ontario, Paris, Edmonton and Calgary, where the supply of reservation-based station vehicles continues to grow alongside the supply of FLEX cars.

In 2022, Communauto will expand to Hamilton, Ontario, where the FLEX service will soon be available. As a reminder, this service allows you to use Communauto vehicles on demand and without prior reservation. The FLEX service, introduced in 2013, has already won over the cities of Montreal, Quebec, Halifax, Edmonton, Toronto and Calgary.

More electric cars

As for electrification, Communauto has ordered 100 new electric cars, which would be additions and replacements for some of the 110 fully electric units currently in service. Unfortunately, less than half of this order, Niro EVs, has been fulfilled thus far by the manufacturers: a striking example of how vehicle shortages present a challenge to achieving growth objectives. The same applies to hybrid vehicles, available only in small quantities, requiring us to return to gasoline models.

More spacious cars

In 2022, Communauto is also continuing to diversify its fleet by adding more spacious cars to the station-based service in order to meet the needs of families and long-distance trips. For example, the Niro Hybrid model will be added to stations with the Kona and Tucson models. The latter will be available at a price surcharge of 10%. Corollas, which are already available by reservation in stations, will also be added to the FLEX service.

The recent spike in gasoline prices is likely to further boost demand for carsharing. “The best way to cope with the rising cost of gas is more cycling, walking and public transit – and supplementing with carsharing,” adds Benoit Robert.