Moving Day & Car Sharing

Today is the big day...well...sort of...I'll be moving all of my stuff sans my bed and couch, since Michelle has a better bed, and as you'll see a couple of blog posts down, we bought a new couch. I'll still be sleeping at home--err--my parent's place I guess it is now until Friday, when we'll move Michelle's stuff in and make it official.

Anyway, tonight we'll be moving my stuff the same way we'll be moving Michelle's on Friday - with a Zipcar cargo van; we both signed up for Zipcar in anticipation of a car-less life (at least for the immediate future in Toronto). So, I thought I'd share the wealth of information and options you have if you decide to go with car-sharing in Toronto - and let you know why we decided to go with Zipcar over the others.

The car sharing wars in Toronto are well under way - but it
only benefits us: the drivers.

The companies we considered are Zipcar, Autoshare and the newbie, Car2Go. All three share many similarities, but each has their own benefits and downfalls. First, let me introduce you to the basics of car-sharing, that is, the features that all three companies share:

• Cars are reserved online or by telephone in advance
• Cars are parked across the city, and locations can be found and chosen online
• Gas is included in the cost of the rental (awesome right?)
• Insurance is included (even more awesome)
• There is a yearly membership fee, as well as rental fees for the time you want to rent the car

All of the above vary a bit, but the basics are all the same. 

Here's some of the pros and cons we found specific to each company:

Pros:

• More car locations than both Zipcar and Car2Go
• Hourly rates are SLIGHTLY cheaper than that of the others (albeit not by much)
• Cargo vans are available for big moves
• Yearly membership is the cheapest

Cons:

• One time membership fee is ridiculous
• The application fee is higher

Pros:

• Cars are parked in Green P parking lots across Toronto, making them easy to find
• Cars don't need to be returned where they're picked up, making them ideal for one way trips
• Rates are paid per minute, making them more ideal for shorter trips

Cons:

• Per hour rates are much higher than Zipcar and Autoshare
• Less cars than both competitors, despite their convenient locations

Pros:

• Annual membership fee is cheapest
• Car fleet is larger than Car2Go, although not as large as Autoshare
• Overnight deals throughout the week
• Most KM included with reservation (200KM vs 150KM with Autoshare)

Cons:

• As mentioned, not as many cars as Autoshare
• Hourly driving rate is a tad higher than Autoshare

In the end, it all came down to dollars and sense...we decided to steer clear of Car2Go; not that there's anything wrong with the company, but they aim their business at people who are using the car to commute, instead of taxis, etc. and one-way trips. Michelle and I were looking at something that could sustain our lifestyle, allow us to take a car for a day on the weekend, or take a trip to walmart for a bunch of useless crap, the hourly rate with Car2Go was just too high (it's about $12.99 at all times). 

So that left us with Autoshare and Zipcar, and believe me it wasn't an easy decision...there's an Autoshare car directly across from the apartment, and I swear, we almost went with them, but then we looked at the numbers again.

Sure, Autoshare has hourly rates that are a bit lower, and their yearly membership is lower as well, they also charge you a one-time membership fee of $113.00. So, even though their yearly membership fees are $20.00 lower than Zipcar, we'd have to stay a member for about 5-6 years before those savings would even matter. Add to that the fact that Zipcar had a promo where our first year was half price, and we got $40.00 driving credits each, and the deal was done.

The convenience is still there - although it's a bit of a farther walk to a car, and at a much lower cost in the long run. 

So now we're both signed up, and the $40.00 we each got will be paying for the moving vans we'll both be using to move this week; needless to say, we're happy with our decision. 

All in all, it depends on what you're going for; if you're a commuter looking for a more convenient way to travel in the downtown core, Car2Go is for you. If you're in the similar situation to us, both Zipcar and Autoshare will work, but make sure you look at how long you'll be using the service, and what kind of promotions each company is offering, because it always comes down to who will give you the better deal.

Cheers