City
How Do You Get a Car For a Loonie?
CityFlitz, Toronto's newest auto-sharing company, showcased its $1 a day rental program in Toronto at Yonge-Dundas Square yesterday.
Its premise is simple: Drive around the city at least 30 kilometers a day in a car plastered with advertising, which heavily subsidizes the cost of the rental.
I took a test drive with Andreas Kotal, President and CEO of CityFlitz (pictured above with his head poking out of the sunroof of a MINI Clubmans) as we chatted about his new venture.
"It's most exciting today to see this idea taking off," said Kotal, a Toronto resident and graduate of York University's Schulich School of Business MBA program. "Inspiration came from a similar business model that was developed five years ago in Vienna, Austria, developed by former Formula One driver Niki Lauda. They now have a fleet of over 600 cars."
For less than the price of a TTC fare, members of CityFlitz can rent for a day a MINI Cooper, MINI Cooper Clubmans or a Smart car wrapped with in an advertisement from one of its clients. Yahoo! Canada is the first main partner.
"We took this basic advertising model and based it around a rental model like the car-sharing companies in North America," said Kotal. "We gave Yahoo! maximum flexibility for their design. I find it very eye-catching. They look very sexy."
While opinions on the new ad-plastered Minis may differ for consumers, the idea is already a hit.
Barb King from Nova Scotia (above left) signs up for CityFlitz's new auto-sharing service in the GTA. "I think it's a fantastic idea," says King, who lived in Toronto for 30 years. "The advertising doesn't bother me."
CityFlitzers, as Kotal likes to call them, will be able to pick up their rental cars at parking lots conveniently located around the city nearby subway stations. "You'd be able to choose a location on a map and have 24/7 access to pick up your car," says Kotal.
While this idea sounds really cool, it's does have its drawbacks. Like becoming a mobile billboard, for one. Since each CityFlitz car in the fleet has a built-in GPS tracking system, this enables advertisers to have real-time information about the use of the car.
Aside from the 30 km minimum use per day, CityFlitz members are allowed unlimited mileage within the city after that. And CityFlitzers are responsible for topping up the gas upon completion of the rental.
A pleasant perk is the addition of Wi-Fi high speed internet. Which would be great for longer trips with bored passengers. But this may come in handy for iPhone users as well. And anyone with a laptop who gets lost and needs to quickly look up Google Maps. Or if you're a bored blogger stuck in gridlocked traffic.
One passerby at Yonge-Dundas Square thought told me he thought this idea should've been around 20 years ago. "It benefits the environment, the consumer and the manufacturer," said Anders Cullin, 32. "It's so much more accessible, appealing and practical."
There's a total of 13 Mini Clubmans plastered with Yahoo! Canada to rent from CityFlitz over the next 12 months. An additional three Mini Coopers with advertising partners North by Northeast Music & Film Festival and two Smart cars with Global Ryan's Petfoods.
CityFlitz plans to accommodate all other major cities in Canada soon, starting with Vancouver and then Montreal.
To rent a car, CityFlitz members must be at least 23 years old and have a valid "G" driver's license as well as a credit card that includes rental car insurance coverage.
Members will pay a one time fully-refundable security deposit of $350 and a a one time $30 administrative processing fee. Other than that, there's a $7 monthly usage fee.
You can preregister for updates on the program at their website. You'll be able to sign up for a rental as of Monday, August 25.
"We've already had 300 people sign up since last Thursday when we kicked off our radio campaign," says Kotal. "The list is growing. Every 10 minutes someone else signs up. We want to give as many people the opportunity to drive one of our cars, so customers will be limited to a two-day rental in September. Come October, they will be able to rent our cars for a week at a time."
How does this formerly two-horse race stack up against Zipcar and AutoShare? Perhaps those of you who have tried these auto-share companies can comment on your experiences. Would you be amenable to join CityFlitz?
Photos by Roger Cullman.
Discussion
30 Comments
Sort By Oldest First / Newest First
Subscribe
If I was one of the companies advertising on these vehicles, I would be concerned about how the behaviours of some one driving a vehicle with my brand all over it might affect my business.
Although, we're so saturated with advertising as it is, these vehicles will probably just blend in with everything else.
What an assault on the eyes.
Oh, the wisdom of the passerby! It benefits the environment to require users drive a minimum of 30km per day? It benefits the manufacturer to reduce the total number of cars required to provide mobility to a given population?
I am an AutoShare user right now. It costs more than $1/day, sure, but there are per-km charges with no minimum milage (an incentive to drive less), you can offset your carbon for a minimal fee, and gas is included if you need to fill up. There are sedans, hatchbacks, vans, and sportier vehicles to choose from at a variety of price points.
I'm not sure I like the idea of a car service designed with the primary goal of increasing the number of mobile billboards on the road with (apparently) no structure promoting conservation.
- the goal is to reduce personal car ownership
- cars are available 24/7 self-serve
- fees are primarily per hour (and/or km), although daily rates are available
- insurance coverage is comprehensive and included ($2M for AutoShare, $1M for Zipcar)
- typical trips are 3 - 4 hours
While I understand the lure of ad-based rentals (Zipcar has had some in its fleet for a while, and we are in discussions), there is so much more to "auto sharing" than putting a couple of dozen "sexy" cars into a few parking lots in the city and collecting email addresses.
That said, there are many changes coming to our love affair with the automobile, and Cityflitz is another example (although not as I can tell of car sharing). I wish them all the best.
The reader participation question at the end about ZipCar and AutoShare mitigates this somewhat, sure, but fleshing out the comparison in the post itself would have helped.
Not sure I understand the rationale around the 30km minimum. Doesn't this really just promote driving for the sake of driving? Not sure that really helps the environment in any way, nor does it help to get people to click on Yahoo! ads. Would you even notice a Yahoo! car zipping by on the 401?
@Darlene: Cityflitz's rentals are subsidized by the advertising that envelops their cars. The 30km minimum is presumably to ensure that that the advertiser's message is out and about for long enough for that subsidy to provide a minimum value (in terms of exposure) to the sponsor. Make no mistake, this is first and foremost an advertising platform, not an environmental initiative.
@Tim: Starting the conversation is good, but providing more grist for the mill (e.g. getting comments from other services into the main article, or suggesting a basis for comparison) would make it seem less like a perfunctory gesture or a shortcut to avoid rounding out the article by assembling a broader perspective on the subject. Without this, the post is vulnerable to complaints (like m6j 416's above) of cheerleading.
The people I know who use zipcars or autoshare use it to buy groceries or to go to ikea. Not 30 kms of travel.
Relocate to Oshawa, Mississauga, Brampton, Guelph, Kitchener, and open it up to younger people with six months of G2 driving, then you'll have a real success.
A similar distance and another likely scenario is a return trip from downtown to York University.
If you fail to meet the minimum requirements after three times, you aren't allowed to continue to use the service.
This makes sense. At least from an advertiser's point of view. People tend to rent cars when they need them. Not just for going to the grocery store and back. That's what taxis are for. :)
@m6j 416 - BlogTO is a blog. They can do whatever the fuck they want. Go comment at the Toronto Star.
<i>To rent a car, CityFlitz members must be at least 23 years old and have a valid "G" driver's license as well as a credit card that includes rental car insurance coverage.</i> Damn! Not even Craigslist has Cars for a Loonie.
If you are driving a vehicle with a brand name/company logo, you are representing that name. If you drive like an asshole on the road, you represent that company in a negative way.
Umm. That's exactly what people rent Zipcar or Autoshare cars for.
And Wifi in the car = more idiots on the road not paying attention. Fabulous.
Tim, what I am saying is that the story was incomplete at best, if not misleading (to call cityflitz "Toronto's newest auto-sharing company", so clearly a cut & paste from their press release. In fact, yes, it is bordering on a shill.)
I have invested my life into building AutoShare over the last 10 years, and before that the Co-operative Auto Network in Vancouver, to establish an alternative to owning a car in our city (and, to create a living for myself and my team). I take exception to the use of "auto-sharing" to describe something that is not car sharing, not yet operational enough to answer critical questions - and quite frankly, ya didn't fricken call me to discuss this either, so no wonder you cut & paste from their press release (check out the other stories online).
You react to my note, yet fail to address my points.
I am not against more competition, or someone doing something new & innovative - I'm just saying that cityflitz is not providing a similar service to that of AutoShare, nor Zipcar. They are renting cars by the day, like Budget (but for very little money). And you are helping them to appropriate the term car sharing, which they are not.
I'm not merely reiterating what's on their press release. I hope to encourage discussion and provide a forum where our readers can judge for themselves how useful this new service is to them, what ever it's called.
(Yahoo is still around? Why?)
Any better ideas?
First of all, it took 2 weeks for them to process my membership (not 48 hours as they claim on the site). My payment and deposit had been processed earlier, of course. I sent multiple emails before finally getting my login. Excited to get started (finally!) I logged onto the site. Nothing available. You can only book 2 weeks in advance. So I log back on the site the next day in the morning. Again, nothing available. The trick: really, really fast typing at the stroke of midnight. Most cars are booked by 12:01AM. Not all cars are $1/day. Some are $45/day.
So I managed to book a car (at 12:00:01 AM, of course). 2 weeks later, when it was finally my day to get the car, I realized, how do I access the keys? My bad for not realizing this sooner. With Autoshare, members get a key to access the lock boxes. So I returned to the CityFlitz website. I was supposed to get an email confirmation with an access code to the lock box. Searched my email - nothing. All my other emails regarding my application were there. Maybe I didn't reserve it properly. Nope, when I log in, I see I have an active reservation (not codes on the website). Hmm. So I call the office. No answer. Call the emergency 24/7 1-800 number. It goes to voice mail. Wow, what if it was a real emergency??? Sent an email. Tried the emergency number for over an hour. Nothing. I ended up taking the bus to where I had to go. VERY frustrating.
The next day, still no news from them.
So my major complaint at this point: horrible, horrible customer service. What if the car didn't start? What if the keys or the car were not there? There's no guarantee you'll get a hold of somebody at CityFlitz. In other words, don't rely on being able to get to your destination with their cars. Always have a plan B. CityFlitz makes it money off the advitisers and will make sure they are happy. They don't make money off the drivers. Why should they care if you are happy and satisfied. They have plenty of members you will happily drive the car.
Bottom line: you get what you pay for. Autoshare costs more, but their customer service has always been stellar. They are reliable, usually always available, and helpful. I imagine Zip is the same.
I have since reserved another car. This time I did get an instant confirmation. Could there also be something wonky with their IT? Maybe I deleted the original confirmation my mistake.
So, at this point I don't trust them. Is the business in trouble? Starting to worry about my $350 deposit... Let's see how long it takes to get that back.
Let's see if they charge me, after my multiple messages and email, for not having driven 30km!!
Warn anyone you think may like this car idea.