Car co-op scales back delivery program

KITCHENER — Waterloo Region’s co-operative car share program is scaling back its car delivery service starting Sept. 1, hopefully just temporarily.

Community CarShare will be offering its delivery program only to corporate customers and at a reduced number of pickup spots in Kitchener, Waterloo and Elmira.

“We’ll be offering it at fewer stations than we were previously,” said Matthew Piggott, member services manager.

An interim solution was needed after the contractor the organization was using to deliver the vehicles was no longer available.

Staff are now delivering the cars to the designated spots for members to pick up. Since there are only four staff in Waterloo Region, the service needed to shrink to be manageable.

Members paid $10 on top of the monthly and per-use fees for the quantum delivery program, which delivered a car to one of 70 locations, where it was returned after use.

Kitchener-based Community CarShare is looking for a new company to take over the delivery.

“We’re still offering our conventional services and it’s still very popular,” Piggott said.

And, he said, “we’re always doing new and interesting things.”

A new casual plan was introduced last month for those who are interested in car-sharing but don’t want the commitment of a monthly fee.

Under this new casual plan, which is geared to people who need a car infrequently, the application fee remains but there is no monthly fee. Instead, it’s pay as you go. “It’s already become quite popular and it’s opened up carshare to a new group of people,” Piggott said.