Modo The Car-Co-op is making inroads into the suburban Tri-Cities with new cars coming to Coquitlam and Port Moody, and with growing interest in Port Coquitlam, said marketing director Selena McLachlan.
And the Port Moody resident says the car-sharing co-op is not just for hipsters: Her family has given up the second car in favour of a $500 refundable share purchase with Modo and she pays a $4 hourly rate (plus a small km fee) to use the car, gas included.
“Historically, the early adopters have been attracted to car sharing for philosophical reasons: owning less, living more. That’s not the future. The future is in people making what I would call smart, pragmatic decisions.”
On the recent May long weekend she used the Modo Prius, located at Knowle Street in Port Moody, a 10-minute walk from her house, for a recreational visit to Vancouver when her 18-year-old borrowed the family car for his own outing.
“As a member, I was able to drive for six hours and it cost me $24 dollars, including gas.”
The co-op is locally owned by its members who buy the refundable share but casual members can pay a $5 monthly fee instead to use a vehicle, although they pay a higher hourly rate.
McLachlan said Modo is becoming popular for those who need a car for outings, such as shopping or appointments, or to supplement their vehicle fleet (business memberships are encouraged).
Members can even take a Modo car on an overnight trip to the U.S., and with a cap on the daily rate, it’s an affordable alternative to a rental car. Other advantages, McLachlan noted, is free parking in cities where Modo has designated spots or allows Modo parking in resident-only permit areas.
Modo drivers are also exempt form paying tolls to cross the Port Mann Bridge.“With most people’s second car sitting idle most of the time, it makes all the sense in the world, economically,” McLachlan said.
But there has to be variety and a number of vehicles to make it work. Three is the minimum and in June both Port Moody and Coquitlam will have the magic number to service their growing number of members. In Port Moody, for example, Modo is adding a third vehicle — an SUV — to its fleet in the city, after city council approved the plan Tuesday, with the car to be parked in the Klahanie neighbourhood. (Two other cars in the city are located at Knowle Street, next to city hall, and in the Suter Brook development.)
And Coquitlam will be adding three cars in the City Centre neighbourhood, near the MTwo development on Glen Drive.
In part, the cities are driving the trend, McLachlan acknowledged, because they see how congested the roads are getting and so are trying new strategies, such as giving developers incentives, which could include reduced parking requirements in exchange for buying Modo cars for their residents.
Modo works best in cities with good transit and lots of density, which explains why Port Moody and Coquitlam are leading the Tri-Cities in Modo membership. Still, McLachlan is optimistic that Modo will come to Port Coquitlam in the future as membership takes off in the other two cities with the coming of the Evergreen Line and growth along with it.
More information is available at www.modo.coop.
