There are three cars parked in the next block this morning with a funny little cartoon of a car painted on the side. They are automobiles owned by Communauto, a cooperative venture which provides cars to members for short term rentals all over Montreal. For much less than it costs to rent a car from a commercial agency, members can reserve and pick up cars at more than 100 locations all over town. Rentals can be for as short a period as a half hour, and cars are available 24 hours a day. My musician daughter Elin, who is a member, has picked up a car at midnight near her boyfriend's place, swung by our house to collect an instrument she'd left here, dropped it off at her apartment, and returned the car to the original location 45 minutes and 25 kilometers later--and all for about $12.
The car sharing idea started Switzerland 20 years ago, and now many North American cities have services. In parts of Montreal, Communauto says that trips in its cars now represent about 10 per cent of all automobile travel, cutting back pressure to put in more parking places. Its fleet is "green" too, since it consists of high fuel-efficiency models like Toyota Echos and Yarises.
Definitely worth looking into if you're serious about living "green."
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1 comment:
Oi, achei teu blog pelo google tá bem interessante gostei desse post. Quando der dá uma passada pelo meu blog, é sobre camisetas personalizadas, mostra passo a passo como criar uma camiseta personalizada bem maneira. Até mais.
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