Vrtucar

We’ve been Vrtucar customers for five years and use the service on a weekly basis. Vrtucar has seen us through a couple of life changes, including a move across the city and the birth of our now two-​year-​old son.
They maintain a sizeable fleet and expand service to maintain a consistent ratio of cars per members in each neighbourhood. We now live in Centretown West and have a selection of roughly 5 locations that are in walking distance from our place.
The cars are kept in good (not pristine) condition. In five years of weekly use, we’ve only had one instance where a reservation wasn’t available on time and we had to relocate to a different car.
Vrtucar maintains a couple of larger vehicles at a few locations across the downtown if needed for hauling trips. It’s nice to have access to these vehicles for more flexibility. The first and only all-​electric vehicle I’ve driven is the Nissan Leaf stationed at World Exchange Plaza – very cool.
Compared to Zipcar, I appreciate that Vrtucar charges based on the mileage traveled (in addition to a lower hourly rate). This gives more flexibility for renting the car for the time you need and only paying for what you actually travel. It requires a little more paperwork when returning the car.
As a Vrtucar member you can also make use of the Communauto network in Gatineau and Montréal. Vructar also has vehicles in Kingston.
Finally, the company has heart. It’s still a place where they meet each new member (you have to come in to finalize your paperwork) and they are out there at community events in the city. It’s clear that the people who run Vrtucar care about what they’re doing and the environmental and health benefits of car sharing.

Andrea’s review outlines benefits and details of the car sharing model pretty well. Like Andrea, I use a car a couple times a month and Vrtucar has never let me down. The first car sharing service I used was Zipcar in DC and in Toronto. Zipcar’s registration, admin, and web service is fancier than Vrtucar so I wondered if the little Montréal/​Ottawa company would be able to deliver the goods. However Vcar provides well maintained vehicles whenever I need them and little hassle for late vehicles (phone them in advance and let them know — Vrtucar will charge you extra for the lateness but won’t send a hit man after you.)
If you haven’t used a car sharing service before, there are a couple of things to be aware of. First, you are completely on your own when you pick up and drop off the car so there is more paperwork and fussing than if you just rented a car from Hertz. You have to sign in and sign out, record the Odometer reading, put gas in the tank (with their credit card) if needed, and use a special key fob to unlock the vehicle. (The ignition key is wired to the steering column) Also, if you don’t start the vehicle within x minutes of unlocking the door, you have to re-​fob. None of this is major, but if you’re not a fairly responsible, detail-​oriented person, then car sharing isn’t for you.
Another difference between car sharing and rentals is the condition of the car. With rentals, the car is always sparkling clean. With a shared car there will be leaves, road grit and other visible signs of use inside and out. It’s up to you to decide whether the car you’ve received is excessively dirty or obviously damaged. In which case you have to report it to the car service (lest the next user report you for the mess/​damage).
Finally, don’t expect that if you sign up today, you can get a car tomorrow. It takes a couple of weeks to apply, have them check your driving record and send you the key fob by mail. Also you have to view an online orientation video.
Vrtucar is a great service for anyone living near downtown with occasional car needs. They also offer day rates for longer trips and programs for businesses that want to provide company vehicles to employees.

I’m lucky that I can walk/​bike/​take transit to work so I don’t *NEED* a car but it sure is nice to have access to one occasionally to make my life easier. Enter Vrtucar.(CommunAuto in Quebec.)
There are 7 cars within a 10-​minute walk of where I live (Sandy Hill), so I have never had a problem finding a car when I wanted one (even at the last minute), and I have never had a problem extending my reservation if I was out longer than expected. The online reservation system is quick and easy.
I chose the membership option with no monthly fee and a slightly higher per-​use fee because I only use the car once or twice a month. I use Vrtucar mainly for errands and for visiting friends in car-​land. It’s also great to be able to pick up friends & family from the train/​bus/​airport. Vrtucar has just put reuseable shopping bags in the trunks of the cars in its fleet so I don’t even have to remember to bring mine along.
My neighbours chose the membership option with a small monthly fee and a low per-​use fee; they used the car a couple of times per week for groceries and for expeditions like x-​country skiing or swimming in Gatineau Park. I like to tag along with them. :)
In addition to the environmental benefits of 6 – 8 people sharing a car instead of each person having his or her own car, I like the reduction in hassle. No oil changes, no shovelling driveways, no changing to winter tires and back again — and I spend much less per month in total than I used to pay just for my parking space.
P. S. I can’t wait to drive «our» new electric car… just need to find an excuse to head downtown.