Urban living is easier without auto worries
Ashley Ford
Province
CREDIT: Ric Ernst, The Province Peter Wall’s latest condo complex includes a car-sharing option.
It is somewhat ironic that admitted lifelong car afficionado Peter Wall is pushing non-car ownership for downtown dwellers.
The Vancouver businessman, who owns two Rollers (Rolls Royce), an Aston Martin and a Range Rover, has given a fleet of seven vehicles to his $110-million, 456-unit Electric Avenue condo complex now under construction at the corner of Burrard and Nelson. The car-sharing option is believed a first in North America and a trend Wall believes could become the norm rather than the exception in the future.
“This is a win-win situation for everyone, and we certainly intend to expand the program to our other future projects in the downtown,” says Wall.
The vehicles — four environmentally-efficient Toyota Prius hybrids, a station wagon, a van and a pickup — will be stored on site and available to condo owners who join up with the Co-operative Auto Network for interim use. The fleet was carefully chosen to give users the widest possible usage, from simple car use to moving groups of passengers or bigger items.
“It is a fabulous idea and I certainly believe that it will become more of the norm for people living downtown who only need occasional use of a car or truck.
“It encourages people to walk to work, is better for their health and the environment and essentially gives you car ownership without actually owning a car, which is very expensive,” he says.
“People often don’t appreciate the real cost of car ownership and especially for those living downtown they generally get very little use out of it,” Wall says.
It also brings the added bonus of making home ownership more economic if you convert those auto payments and insurance costs in home ownership dollars, he says.
The option appears to be an added attraction for buyers.
Bob Rennie, of Rennie Marketing Systems who is selling the condos, says approximately 350 of the units, which will sit atop nine new cinemas, have already sold.
According to the co-operative, the savings are significant. It estimates the average cost for a Lower Mainland car owner is around $400 a month, compared with $98 a month for its members.
There are various options and the co-op has a fleet a 60 vehicles. It then charges for car use based on a combination of time used and distance driven.
For instance, if you drive less than 150 kilometres a month you would pay an annual $60 administrative fee, $1.75 per hour to a max of $21 daily and 32 cents per kilometre driven for an average monthly cost of $67.
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