Rossland may soon be a part of a carshare co-op as the Rossland Sustainability Commission is working to establish a branch of Kootenay Carshare Cooperative.
Ann Damude, the sustainability commission's manager explained that residents have been asking how to make Rossland more affordable for young families and also reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
“This isn’t the first time that Rosslanders have considered a car share initiative, but this time we think that the timing is right,” Damude said.
Kootenay Carshare Cooperative currently co-ordinates successful car sharing programs in Nelson, Fernie, Kaslo, Kimberly and Revelstoke. To participate, car share members pay a one-time $500 deposit. The deposit is refundable should the member leaves the co-operative without having any accidents with the car share vehicles.
Alex Loeb, the sustainability commission's lead on the car share initiative, recently launched a survey to assess the need in for such a program in Rossland.
“The commission is asking interested businesses and individuals to complete the survey which asks what type of vehicles they would be interested in accessing and for how many hours a week.
"We’ll use the information to assess feasibility and develop the program,” Loeb said.
Members also pay a monthly membership fee which is scaled to how frequently they use the car share vehicles.
“If you drive the car share vehicle less than 100 kilometres in a month, which is about four return trips from Rossland to downtown Trail, then your monthly membership fee would be around $5 per month,” Loeb said, adding that a 1.5 hour trip into downtown Trail would cost about $10 in usage fees.
Vehicles would be booked on-line through the Kootenay Carshare website for as little as 30 minutes or for multi-day trips. Members pay a usage fee based on the kilometres travelled and hours booked.
The co-operative pays for all fuel, insurance, licensing fees, vehicle maintenance and routine cleaning. Members receive a monthly invoice from the co-op that itemizes charges. Members pay their fees and the carshare co-op team handles the rest. Carshare co-ops in other Kootenay towns not only have a range of SUVs, trucks and sedans available to their members but also utility trailers, roof top boxes and bike racks.
Damude said car sharing is a great solution for families who occasionally need access to a second vehicle, or for a business that needs temporary access to a truck to make a delivery. For many people car sharing is a cost effective, hassle free alternative to car ownership.t.
If you’re interested in being part of the Kootenay Carshare Cooperative, complete the on-line survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RosslandCarShareSurvey or contact Ann Damude, Rossland sustainability manager at 250-362-5617.