Car-share services prepared for winter driving in B.C.

The rare appearance of heavy snow on Lower Mainland streets may have sent some drivers scrambling to put rugged tires on their rides, but car-share customers were already prepared — whether they knew it or not.

Despite their feeble appearances, the Smart cars and Prius Hybrids that fill the fleets of point-to-point car shares are ready for winter with mud and snow tires. Meanwhile, two-way car share companies boast vehicles built for heavy snow, with winter tires and all-wheel drive.

But regardless of the type of rubber on the vehicle, car share companies say drivers should put safety first and not let a running metre stop them from pulling over if they find themselves in trouble.

Tai Silvey, the director of Evo Car Share, said cars in BCAA’s fleet are equipped with all-season tires that meet winter driving requirements.

When asked what drivers should do if they find themselves in dangerous conditions, Silvey advised they should pull over.

“We’re a local company, so we’re very aware of the weather,” he said. “We have a policy where any member, if they feel it’s unsafe to get back home safely, or if the road conditions are unsafe, they can call us and we will end the billing at that point and help them get … out of the situation.”

Chris Iuvancigh, Vancouver’s general manager of car2go, advised a similar strategy for customers who find themselves unable to drive.

“If a car2go gets stuck in the snow, members shouldn’t worry or panic,” Iuvancigh said in a written statement.

“(They) simply have to end the ride to stop any further charges from incurring and call our round-theclock support line for assistance.”

Iuvancigh said drivers caught outside of the company’s “home area” who are unable to end their trip should call member services.

Drivers expecting to head into seriously rough weather may want to consider taking out a more serious, winter-ready machine. More than one-in-10 of Modo’s vehicles are fitted with full-fledged winter tires, and the remainder have all-season rubber. Also, 30 of the co-op’s rides sport all-wheel or four-wheel drive.

Selena McLachlan, Modo’s director of marketing and business development, said the car co-op would “rather forgo the revenue than put any of our members at risk.”

Reflecting that, each of Modo’s three rear-wheel drive sports-minded autos are temporarily taken off the grid during spells of bad weather, she said.

Drivers who do get stuck in snow or find themselves in any other trouble due to weather should call Modo’s customer support line and the coop will call in roadside assistance to help, or find another way to get them back on their way.

Car share company Zipcar also offers winter-ready vehicles.