We often are asked how we are different from our competition or a rental company. The answer is simple; we are a community based, non-profit, co-operative which focuses on giving back to our members. As a member of Community CarShare, you are also an owner of the organization. Other operators in Southern Ontario are privately-owned for-profit companies, where you don’t get to participate in the governance of the organization. As a member of Community CarShare, you have the right to participate directly in the democratic control of the organization, through voting at the Annual General Meeting, or by volunteering to sit on the board of directors or any of its committees.

Update your membership within minutes with our handy form. You can request putting your membership on hold, changing your rate plan or ending your membership at anytime. You will receive an email confirmation when your request has been processed.

As a member you are responsible for adhering to Community CarShare’s rules and by-laws as stated in our member information booklet. CarSharing is just that, sharing! So it’s important that we all work together to keep everything running smoothly.

Any approved member of Community CarShare can drive on your booking if you would like. This can be a member of your household account or another member entirely; just be sure to book the trip on the account you wish to be billed on.

However you cannot allow non-members to drive as they are not covered by our insurance. It’s easy to add a member to your account if you need another set of hands on the trip – just be sure to add them before they sit behind the wheel. Allowing a non-member to drive is a violation of our terms of use and will result in the suspension of driving privileges.

Don’t worry we’ve got you covered! If it’s lost or damaged just give us a call or send us an email and we will get you a new one out in the mail. If you have a booking coming up we can share with you how to acquire a new card in a pinch. Either way we will be able to get you driving again in no time.

There are two components of billing when you are a member; a monthly membership fee and a pay per use rate. Your bookings are billed 1-3 days after completion directly to your method of payment. Your monthly fees are billed via an invoice once the current month has concluded. For example you would receive your December invoice the first week of January. Invoices also itemize all the trips you’ve taken in the previous month.

Members have access to gas cards during bookings for Petro-Canada and Esso. If you fill up outside one of these stations all you need to do is snap a photo and send it to info @ communitycarshare.ca and a credit will be placed on your account. Be sure to include your member number and booking ID!

We definitely recommend checking out a full list of our fines and credits in Appendix A of our member manual. But let us overview a few common fines that can be easily avoided:

• Late Fee – unlike a rental people can book the same car back to back so it is important to bring it back on time
• Low Gas – we ask all members to leave the vehicles with a minimum of 1/4 tank of gas at the end of their booking for the next member
• Inconvenience – If you keep a member waiting for a car or leave them with low gas you will pass on monetary compensation to the member affected
• Dead Battery – Remember to turn off all the internal lights and remove the keys from the ignition to avoid draining the battery
• Replacement SmartCard – if it malfunctions we replace it for free, but if you lost it or damage it the replacement cost is $15
• 24/7 Booking Service – if you book with a booking agent there is a $3 call charge

When you are an approved member of Community CarShare you are covered by our insurance while driving our vehicles. Our policy includes collision and comprehensive coverage and $2 million in third party liability. In the event of an accident where a member is  determined at fault there is a $500 deductible for the claim.

You must be insurable to be eligible to drive co-op’s vehicles, as per the Driver Attestation in your Membership Agreement, and the Driver Attestation must be declared annually by each driver. For the full scoop on insurance check out our member information booklet.

We are happy to offer a variety of Damage Pool options that renew annually for a little ‘extra protection’ for our members. You can:

• Reduce your damage fee to $0 (from $500), or reduce repair costs by up to $1000 – via $60 annual fee.
• Reduce your damage fee via eligible credit card (CLDI). Another benefit to signing a Collison Damage Waiver, as described above, is a $0 damage fee for claims made through your credit card claims process.
• Opt in to both options – Sign the credit card waiver for a $0 damage fee in the event of an insurance claim, and pay the $60 annual fee to have non-claimed repair costs up to $1000 covered by the co-op

When enrolling in auto payments you are asked if you have CLDI, or collision loss damage insurance. This is when your credit card provider offers collision insurance through your card and can reduce your deductible in the case of an accident. Be sure to check with your credit card company if you are unsure about your coverage and take note that some companies consider rental insurance and carsharing insurance under different categories.

Please note that CLDI coverage does not extend to cargo vans or pickup trucks, so if you are using those vehicle types, you are still covered under the co-op’s collision policy for those trips.

The damage fee is a $500 deductible that is applied to members who are in an at-fault accident that results in an insurance claim. If you are not enrolled in the damage pool or do not have CLDI coverage and are deemed at-fault by the insurance company you will be required to pay the $500 damage fee.

Absolutely! Whether it’s a flat tire, you run out of gas, or something out of the blue occurs we have roadside assistance available 24/7. Information for roadside can be found in the glove box of each vehicle or call our reservation line for assistance.

First, take a deep breath and make sure you and the other party are safe. After that give our reservation line a call and let them know there has been an accident. They will connect you with an on-call staff person who will give you all the details on what steps you need to take before leaving the scene, within the next 24 hours, and going forward if arranging a tow is necessary.

You can make a booking in a variety of ways:

• On our website
• Through our mobile site
• By calling our 24/7 booking hotline – number located on the back of your Smart Card
• Calling a staff person during office hours at 1-855-742-7399

We work on a first come, first serve basis so if you need a specific date, time and location it is best to book in advance. However we closely monitor our driver ratio so that there is always something available for our members. Bookings can be made as little as 15 minutes in advance.

You can also make reoccurring bookings, for example if you need to book the car every Wednesday from 7pm-9pm.

If you would like to make a booking on your smart phone you can visit reservations.communitycarshare.ca and bookmark it to your home screen. There is a mobile version of the website that will automatically load on a mobile device but also allows you to toggle to the desktop site if needed.

You can book a vehicle for as little as 30 minutes to as long as 4 consecutive days through our booking system. Trips longer than 4 days require calling the office in order to set up; please note that bookings longer than 4 days are subject to a deposit.

Carsharing is designed for round-trip use, where you start and end at the same point. That means you need to return the car to the location where you pick it up, and pay for all the time you have the car, even if you’re not driving during several hours of your reservation. For this reason, carsharing is not an ideal solution for people who need to make a daily commute more than twice a week.

We have found that the best way to retrieve lost items is to simply go back to the car and grab them. Make yourself a 30-minute booking when its convenient for you, as our system will recognize this as a lost and found booking, and it will automatically be voided. This way you can retrieve your item at a convenient time and location for you at no cost!

If you are left something valuable in the car and cannot make it back to vehicle in a timely manner please call the office and make other arrangements.

You can extend your booking in a variety of ways:

• Online
• Our booking hotline
• On the unit in the vehicle by the review mirror

This way no matter where you are you can update your booking if you are running late or would just like it a little longer.

All members are responsible for paying their own tickets for parking or moving violations. If the tickets are unpaid and Community CarShare must resolve them members are subject to a $40 administrative fee in addition to the cost of the ticket.

While we have signs indicating that our parking spots are reserved for Community CarShare vehicles occasionally they do still get taken. If this happens at the end of your booking please find the closest, legal, not metered parking spot to park in. Once parked be sure to let us know where the car is so we can pass on its location to the next member.