Toronto might let car sharing services park on residential streets

Are you ready for another transportation pilot, Toronto?

City Council is set to consider a proposal this week that would see car-share companies like Zipcar, AutoShare, car2go get access to residential parking spaces on city streets.

"Car-sharing is a sustainable transportation option that allows people to have access to cars when they need one without the associated cost and responsibilities of personal vehicle ownership," reads a report on the proposed Free-Floating Car-Share policy.

The General Manager, Transportation Services is recommending that this policy be adopted as part of a one-year pilot project beginning April 1st, 2018.

The pilot program would allow car-share companies that offer short-term vehicle rentals (not ride-share companies like Uber and Lyft) to apply for a "free-floating car-share parking permit" at a cost of $1,499 per space.

A total of 2,000 permits will be issued during the pilot project, if approved by City Council, with a cap of 500 permits per car-share parent company.

"As part of the proposed pilot, participating car-share companies would be required to provide quarterly information to the City regarding fleet usage, membership, trip origins and destinations, etc," reads a report on the proposal.

The data collected from car-share companies would be used to ensure the program runs smoothly and make any necessary adjustments.