Canadian Legislative Issues

Communauto, a company with an urban, social, and environmental mission with a fleet of some 1,200 self-service cars, has unveiled the preliminary results of its 100 percent electric one-way carsharing pilot project, dubbed Auto-mobile. The project, initially launched last June, aimed to assess the benefits and impacts of such a service in order for the City of Montreal to decide on implementation of a similar service in Montreal in the future.

The preliminary results have outlined two key outcomes. The first highlights that Auto-mobile replaces a significant number of trips normally made with other modes of transportation, including public transit, taxi, walking, or cycling. Secondly, this initiative could likely pave the way to the launch of the electrification process of the vehicle fleet of a city like Montreal.

There are several critical decisions to be made, moving forward. Borough Councillors have been asked to vote on regulatory changes in order to prolong the execution of one-way carsharing systems in Montreal. More information will be shared going forward, in order to ensure a better understanding of this innovative service and how best to maximize its benefits and contribution.