Transit isn't the only way to give up your vehicle
While the City of Kelowna continues to try to push people out of their cars, there might just be a better reason to ditch your wheels — cost.
The average cost of a new car in B.C. is up to $66,807 and the average used vehicle is $36,342, according to Auto Trader, and that doesn't include insurance, gas or upkeep.
There is another way.
Modo is a car sharing service that allows people to rent cars for short periods, similar to bike and scooter services like Lime.
It might sound counterintuitive, but signing up for the service is saving members money, Modo’s CEO Sandra Phillips said.
“In 2023, about a third of our members told us that they've given up one car. This year, it's been over 50 per cent and I think that has a lot to do with the economic conditions at the moment,” she said.
With services like Lime, people are able to hop on a bike or scooter wherever they find one and end their ride at any time. Modo isn’t quite as convenient since customers have to reserve a car, plan their trip and then drop the vehicle off at the same location where they picked it up. Yet, Modo is more than competitive on price.
A Modo membership costs a one time fee of $500 or $6 a month, and a regular car costs about $5 an hour and $0.35 per kilometre. A four hour shopping trip with a Modo car in Kelowna would cost about $40.
Renting a Lime scooter costs $0.35 a minute so to use one for four straight hours would cost $85.
“It really boils down to what people want to do, right? If you may go out with friends at night and then need a way home and you just hop on a Lime scooter, that makes perfect sense. Or you're going and run a bunch of errands and then obviously you need a vehicle to do that,” Phillips said.
Both services, although different vehicles, are a way to reduce reliance on personal cars.
There are hundreds of Lime bikes and scooters in Kelowna, but Modo only has about 25 cars in the city.
In addition to helping people get rid of extra personal vehicles, Modo’s fleet is 13 per cent electric and it aims to increase that to 20 per cent by the end of 2025.
Phillips said Modo is working with developers building apartments to coordinate car share availability with housing.
“We're actively working with local developers that are working on the densification of Kelowna to expand car share options further,” she said. “This is an approach we're taking in the Okanagan, and across B.C., because it helps bring more sustainable transportation options to where people live and then connect them with where they have to go.”
READ MORE: Kelowna working on plan for public transit corridor from downtown to Mission
Part of the company’s collaboration with developers is trying to get electric vehicle infrastructure put into new developments.
“If we can get it in from the start, then it's much easier for us to have electric vehicles,” Phillips said.
Phillips said the company plans on expansion.
“We’ve grown the fleet by 60 per cent since 2018, and we’re actively working to expand.”
— The headline and story were changed at 7 a.m. Nov. 15 for style reasons. The content has not changed.
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