Eighteen carsharing organizations from around the world have announced the formation of an association that sets the ethical, social and environmental bar for the carsharing industry. The driving principles of the new CarSharing Association (CSA) focus on environmental and social impact and responsibility, education, research and ethical practices (www.carsharing.org).
The Association's member organizations span from Sydney to Halifax to Minneapolis to Sao Paolo and represent approximately 100,000 members across the globe. CSA members include innovators of carsharing in North America, the oldest of which, Communauto, is Canadian and has been operating since 1994. Unlike traditional car rental, carsharers use vehicles by the hour at a cost that includes gas, insurance, parking and maintenance.
Five Canadian companies are considered founding organizations: Autoshare (Toronto), The Car Co-op (Vancouver), CarShare HFX (Halifax), Communauto (Montreal, Quebec City, Gatineau and Sherbrooke) and VRTUCAR (Ottawa).
First row: Judith Harvey (PhillyCarShare), Tristan Sender (GoGet), Karen New (The Car Co-op),
Sharon Feigon (I-GO Car Sharing), Benoit Robert (Communauto), Rick Hutchinson (City CarShare). Second row: Justin Raymond (AutoShare), Annie Bourdon (CarShare Vermont),
Alyssa Alt (eGo CarShare), Tanya Paz (The Car Co-op), Jennifer Dotson (Ithaca Carshare),
Marco Viviani (Communauto), Karen Worminghaus (eGo CarShare), Jennifer Jones (iCar),
Pam Cooley (CarShareHFX).
Third row: Graham Hill (eGo CarShare), Nic Lowe (GoGet),
Richard Tourino (GoGet), Kevin McLaughlin (AutoShare), Felipe Campos Barroso (Zazcar),
Bruce Jeffreys (GoGet), John Ribolzi (Community Car), Anna Cook (Ithaca Carshare),
Chris Duffrin (HOURCAR), Wilson Wood (Virtucar), Michael Galligano (Buffalo CarShare),
Creighton Randall (Buffalo CarShare), Christopher Bineham (HOURCAR),
Brent O’Brien (City CarShare).
