Carsharing in Calgary

February 9, 2008

Calgary Alternative Transportation Co-op is a great alternative for those that don’t wish to own a vehicle but occasionally need a car for some activities. As of right now, the up-front costs are the $25 membership fee, $48 annual maintenance fee, and a $500 damage deposit (refunded when you stop carsharing).

Usage fees are approximately $4/hour & $0.20/km, but only the first 8 hours in a day are charged, also from midnight to 6am there is no hourly charge. Some cars are more expensive as well, and naturally you pay for the gas you use.

In a hypothetical scenario if you reserved the car for an entire day, you could drive to Edmonton and back, and assuming 300 km at $0.20 for $60 and 8 hours at $4/hour for $32, it would cost $92.

How does this compare to a regular rental? National Car charges $24.92 for a full day of use, with unlimited kilometers, plus $27.95 for full loss damage waiver and personal accident insurance (which is optional, and there are cheaper options), and some miscellaneous fees of $18.25, bringing the whole cost to $71.12.

So for any sort of serious driving, the carsharing program clearly isn’t the best rate. However, for short inter-city driving of only a few hours a day, it would definitely be cheaper due to the lower up front costs for that day.

Filed under: Everything |