A fleet of 25 new one-way trip shareable cars will soon be available in Hamilton as part of a collaboration between the city and Communauto, the oldest and largest Canadian carsharing organization. The new service, starting this week, will be called Communauto FLEX, and this one-way service is an addition to Communauto’s existing round-trip station-based service, which has been operating in the city for nearly 13 years.
“Communauto is proud to be able to launch FLEX service in Hamilton, and nearly double the fleet size available for residents in the city,” said Benoît Robert, CEO of Communatuo. “Communauto aims to offer a sustainable and economical alternative to car ownership, in complement to transit and active mobility. By adding FLEX vehicles to our offer in Hamilton, it’s another great addition that further develops mobility options in the city.”
The fleet of 25 FLEX cars will be deployed in an area covering 12 square kilometres, across Wards 1, 2, and 3. The launch of the service was made possible by City Council’s approval last year of the Free-Floating CarShare Pilot Program.
With the addition of FLEX service, Communauto will provide a total of 60 carshare vehicles for members in Hamilton—35 round-trip vehicles, and 25 one-way FLEX vehicles.
“One of the City’s key strategic priorities is expanding transportation options to residents, and we are very pleased to do so today with the launch of the new free-floating car share pilot program, Communauto FLEX,” said Mayor Fred Eisenberger. “This program gives residents more flexibility in how they get around by providing people access to a vehicle without the need to book in advance, allowing Hamiltonians to choose the most appropriate method of transport for their trip.”
One-way FLEX service, or free-floating carsharing, is accessed by members through the Communauto app. Available vehicles appear on the map, and can be blocked for use, with a free 30 minutes given to reach the vehicle and begin a trip. According to the press release, “Users can make stopovers, run errands, or make out-of-town trips with the vehicles.”
FLEX service is geared towards short, one-way trips, and users can easily be spontaneous, where the existing round-trip service is well-suited to multi-hour or longer trips, and vehicles must be reserved in advance (also through the Communauto app) before use.
