City of Toronto and AutoShare "on-street parking" partnership kicks into gear

TORONTO, March 25 /CNW/ - AutoShare, Toronto's favourite car sharing service, is proud to be part of a new City of Toronto initiative that today introduced AutoShare's self-serve locations at designated on-street parking spaces across the city. This pilot project is expected to last one year and will see 22 shared vehicles stationed at 6 on-street locations in the city's downtown core and North York.

"This is another great example of the City's commitment to a lower carbon future" says Kevin McLaughlin, President of AutoShare. "In just 4 years, the number of Torontonians using car sharing services like AutoShare has gone from 2,000 to over 20,000. As more people kick their car-owning habit to use other forms of personal, private and public transit, we need a new transportation infrastructure. Bike lanes, road tolls, shared car parking, these things are inevitable in Toronto, and the time to plan is now."

This isn't the first environmental partnership between the City of Toronto and AutoShare, which now boasts a membership base of over 10,000 Torontonians sharing 200 vehicles across the city. In 2007 AutoShare introduced the first shared plug-in electric hybrid vehicle in Canada, through a partnership with TAF (Toronto Atmospheric Fund). The City has also been encouraging developers to put car sharing into new residential towers like Verve, The Bohemian Embassy, Vu and more - and is now also mandating shared parking into commercial and mixed-use buildings like Maple Leaf Square.

Car sharing has significant positive impact on environmental issues such as carbon emissions, traffic congestion and alternative transportation usage, which the city is aiming to investigate further as a part of this project. AutoShare members reduce their CO2 emissions by as much as 1 tonne per year on average, and each shared vehicle takes 8 - 10 privately owned vehicles off the road.

About AutoShare:

Launched in 1998, AutoShare is Toronto's favourite car sharing service, with over 10,000 individuals, families, businesses, and government departments using our self-serve vehicles by-the-hour when they need to drive. Locally owned and managed, AutoShare has the greenest fleet in the GTA, with the lowest fuel consumption rating, the biggest proportion of hybrids and Canada's first 'plug-in' hybrid for rent. Members make reservations on smart-phones, the internet or by phone, 24-hours-a-day, and drive vehicles from over 100 locations across Toronto. Rates range from $6.50 to $9.75 per hour including gas and insurance, and there are more than a dozen models to choose from, including hybrids, convertibles and cargo vans.

For further information: and/or images: Kevin McLaughlin, President, AutoShare, [phone], [email protected]