Communauto is preparing to add between 700 and 900 additional vehicles in the Montreal region next year, which will bring the car-sharing company past the symbolic bar of 5,000 cars across the metropolis.
Published at 5:00 a.m.
“For us, this is an important figure and we want to underline it. In Canada, we will approach 10,000 next year with our additions,” explains the vice-president of the organization, Marco Viviani, in an interview.
He expects that vehicle delivery – which caused Communauto a lot of headaches during the pandemic due to the supply crisis – will now be faster. This year, out of an order of 1,100 vehicles in Montreal, approximately 975 have been received to date.
“That means that there is still a shortage of 100 to 200 for 2024, but we see that the delays are improving, and that this has effects on availability for users. That’s what matters to us,” says Mr. Viviani.
Most large automobile manufacturers, such as Toyota, will for the moment continue to deliver only throughout the year, specifies the manager. In other words, we should not expect to see new cars arriving at the beginning of 2025, but rather gradually, although at a faster pace than during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Review the station zones
From the winter, Communauto also intends to modify the formula of the 90 new “station-zones”, announced last year to allow vehicles to be reserved in larger areas.
Very popular with customers, these can be reserved up to a month in advance, unlike “FLEX” cars, which can be parked on the street and reserved instantly, on the mobile application.
“The problem is that these zone stations have to be closed in the winter, since the vehicles in the station make fewer rotations than FLEX. And with the unpredictability linked to snow removal operations, it becomes a little unmanageable,” says Mr. Viviani.
A solution was therefore identified: the concept of “FLEX round trip”. This will consist of transforming reserved vehicles into FLEX, while leaving them associated with the station-zone to which they belonged during the summer. “FLEX round trips” will be priced at the same prices as pre-booked vehicles, which generally cost less.
As the holiday season approaches, Marco Viviani calls on users to plan as much as possible for the holiday season, by reserving as much in advance as possible.
This year again, in order to maximize vehicle availability for Montrealers, a penalty of $20 per day will be imposed on any person who cancels or shortens a reservation affecting December 24 and 25, as well as December 31 and 1is January, inclusive.
“The idea is to understand that car sharing is for everyone, but that it is also part of an ecosystem, with car rental companies, taxis, public transport. And each actor is important. On our own, we will never be able to have enough vehicles for everyone,” concludes the vice-president.
