Vancouver has 3 car sharing companies called car2go, ZipCar and Modo.

What is car sharing and how does it differ from a traditional car rental or owning a car?

Car sharing is simlple and convenient. You don't have to refuel or worry about  maintaining your car or obtaining car insurance. It's all included in the car sharing rental. This can be more affordable transportation solution to many people  who don't require a car 24/7. Students, Seniors and travellers would all benefit from car sharing.

What are the benefits of car sharing over a traditional car rental?

1.  It's simple and convenient. You can get access to a car faster and save time. Once you are a car sharing member you can go to a designated car sharing location and use the car unlike a traditional car rental that would require paperwork before getting the keys to a car. Car sharing companies mail you a card when you register as a member. This card will provide you access to the car sharing vehicle.

2. You can book a car 24 hours in advance by phone or online. Alternatively you can just go directly to a car sharing location and rent the car.

3. It's affordable. You only pay for the time that you use the car and the km charge if there is one. You might only need to rent a car for 1 hour so car sharing would be more convenient and affordable option in most cases.

4. It takes cars of the road. This urban transportation solution allows more people access to a car without putting more cars on the road with the overall affect of reducing the carbon footprint.

For example Car2go offers the following:

For just 35 cents per minute, members enjoy fuel, parking, mileage, insurance, maintenance, cleaning, GPS navigation, 24/7 customer support service and roadside assistance at no extra cost. There is a one time set up fee of $35 for membership.

One hour costs a maximum of $12.99 plus tax, and 1 day (up to 24 hours) is no more than $65.99 plus tax.

ZipCar's rates are very similar to those of Car2Go.

Modo's rates are different because they are a true co-op car sharing business. They require individuals to buy refundable memberships of $500. The Modo rates are $3 per hour (maximum $36 daily)*. No hourly charge between 11 pm and 7 am. There is also a kilometre fee in addition to the hours fees of

• 40¢ per kilometre for the first 35km
• 25¢ per kilometre for each additional kilometre up to 150km
• 15¢ per kilometre after that

Visitors to Vancouver should consider renting from a car sharing company like car2go, Zipcar or Modo if they don't need a car for the their whole Vancouver holiday or business trip.