Modo

Before Uber and Lyft, before Car2go and Evo, there was Modo, which has been operating only in B.C.

since 1997. The car-sharing enterprise offers two-way, round-trip service in hundreds of communities. Its mission is ultimately “car shedding,” as the company believes it's possible for many British Columbians to live car-free.

And while Selena Mclachlan, director of marketing and communications, contends that Vancouverbased Modo has always had an environmental focus, the pursuit of an all-electric fleet has pushed

the organization further that way in recent years.

“It's a bit of a cart-before-thehorse scenario,” Mclachlan says, admitting that even in cities like Vancouver, there aren't enough charging stations to flip the switch, as it were. Modo currently claims that 11 percent of its 700-odd vehicles are hybrid or fully electric.

“Rather than waiting for the City to advance the infrastructure at its own pace, we're pushing with them and working very hard for them to expedite it,” Mclachlan explains. “They understand the impact that round-trip car sharing has compared to a one-way service, so they're being quite cooperative and moving things along as quickly as possible.”

Modo, which employs about 50 people, has pledged that 30 percent of all vehicles it buys in 2020 will be zero-emission. It expects that number to keep rising each year.