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For car sharing, Vancouver tops Seattle and Portland

On the same day The Tyee publishes Adam Pez's look at the growing success of car-sharing in Vancouver, a Seattle-based think tank releases its three-city comparison of who is best served by car sharing options.

The "gold," say Sightline Institute's Alex Broner and Clark Williams-Derry, goes to Vancouver over Portland, with Seattle lagging third in the slow lane.

Pez's Tyee piece explains how three car-share companies operating in Vancouver -- Modo, Car2Go and Zipcar, are making inroads changing resident's driving habits, especially among the younger set. The result is less pollution and a lower carbon footprint, according to U.S. research.

Broner and Williams-Derry looked at availability and options for car-share customers in Vancouver, Portland and Seattle, providing nifty Google maps fortifying their findings. They write:

"After reviewing the options, we have to give the gold to Vancouver. It's got three major car sharing services, offering wide geographic coverage and lots of vehicles. And while Portland's Getaround clearly has tremendous potential, Vancouver's Modo Coop has had more time to mature. So for the moment, Vancouver's the place to be if you're looking for some short-term wheels that won't break the bank.

"Seattle is clearly in third: Zipcar offers a very good choice and a number of vehicles, but for now it's the only option for shared cars. To catch up with its sister cities, Seattle's quickest path is almost certainly peer-to-peer car sharing. After all, the average vehicle sits idle most of the day -- which means that there are plenty of Seattle car owners with vehicles to rent."

Read the entire Sightline Daily article here.

David Beers is editor of The Tyee.


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