I do not own a car. It is dang expensive in this economy, plus I want to save the environment. Not everyone needs a car, and especially not in Vancouver, a transit friendly city and most routes are walkable. However, I do need a car for eldercare purposes and whenever I do events, so I use various car share services in Vancouver. Since I started driving in 2018, I’ve used all these operators, with the exception of Turo (which is newer) for more than five years.
Evo Car Share
Evo Car Share is probably the most convenient option. I like how you can park most places in Vancouver and you can always find a car in the neighbourhood. You can park it wherever, so long as it’s in Evo’s zones, so you don’t have to hurriedly return it somewhere. I really wish they had more zones, like Richmond or Port Moody! Their customer service is fantastic and because they’re part of BCAA, getting the rare roadside assistance is pretty efficient. I had a (dumb) passenger drain the car’s battery by keeping the A/C on while sitting in the parked car, while I was shooting at an outdoors location for a wedding, and I needed quick help as I had to get to a next location. Evo was quick to help me.
The downside: cleanliness, all across the board. During the pandemic this totally turned me off and got me into Modo (see below). Evo has gotten better and at the start of the trip, there is an option to report the cleanliness of the car. But the reality of driving an Evo is there’s always a high chance you’ll enter a car with someone’s half finished coffee cup, a burrito wrapper in the car door and random garbage on the floor. The absolute worst is the person who left gummy bears all over the driver seat and floor, half chewed gum alongside used, snotty tissue papers in the drink holders, with wrappers of M&Ms and melted chocolate by the gas pedal, and a half drank Diet coke in the car door. It’s sad to say but whenever I share this, if someone else has driven Evo, we one up each other with gross stories. But that’s more of a problem with its user base than the operator.
Modo
Modo is the most economical option with lots of different cars for different types of trips. It’s become my favourite for grocery trips and long days. I use it to do eldercare and groceries with my dad. With Evo, a day rate is $100+, so that is not an option for these days. I use Modo because I can still get something in the range of $40-60 for a good 6 hours or more. During the pandemic, I was fed up with Evo’s lack of cleanliness because it made me feel very unsafe in that time, and a friend recommended Modo because she said because you had to have a membership, their membership respect the cars more. And across the board this is true: I’ve never slid into the driver seat of a Modo and found a pile of garbage like I have several times with Evo. And the cool part about Modo is you can drive it wherever, despite having to return it to its home location. I’ve also rented bigger cars to pick up marketplace finds and other furniture.
The downside: Not all their cars are well maintained. I have been on the phone a few times to report issues with cars. The customer service is attentive and listens, and helps me find an alternate car if the issue cannot be resolved. My few repeat cars generally are fine, but there was one car that had electrical issues in my area for a while. It is now gone and replaced with another model. However, I’ve wrote this off in my head as this is why the service is way cheaper than Evo, though I know friends who fear for their road safety, while I don’t care as much so long as the car is running. If your car has show-stopping issues, Modo doesn’t have the same integration Evo has with BCAA. I’ve witnessed another driver (I was a passenger) report a drained battery issue. Similar to my Evo story, the drain was user-end. But unlike Evo, Modo didn’t really care or act quickly, because the driver caused the error. They did minimal assistance in helping them book assistance. When the mechanic came, he asked the driver to pay him more because Modo paid him very little. We were thankful for his help, so the driver obliged. Evo didn’t make me feel bad in my review above when a passenger drained my battery absent-mindedly with the A/C and came to help pretty fast in comparison. (The mechanic did make fun of us, to be clear, but more in a funny way, and he didn’t ask for more money.) Lastly, sometimes their cars can be challenging to find when they’re near or inside private property, and occasionally the residents of the properties make you feel super unwelcome if you’re lost. (Don’t get me started on that car near Langara.)
Rental Cars and Costco Travel
If I’m doing long trips, rental cars sometimes are worth the cost, upkeep and peace of mind. I use Costco Travel to get a discount in booking a rental car, otherwise the price range can be a little high. You do need a Costco membership to access this benefit. I don’t have an exhaustive list of rental car service reviews, but the one I’ll recommend is Enterprise. They allow N Drivers to drive, so they were one of the early operators I used when I was new to the road.
Rental cars are less convenient than say Evo and Modo since you have to pick them up at their location, and it is subject to availability. Unless I book weeks in advance, I can pretty much guarantee to have limited economical options near the weekend if I last minute book.
Turo
Turo is a new player in the field. It is the AirB&B of cars, and my friends reported that it mirrors AirB&B’s experience. The host is really the person who makes the experience, so while some hosts can be great, you can experience crappy or shady ones. My friends have used it to book luxury or sport cars for photoshoots.
I choose not to use Turo until I have more friends reporting good experiences. This is based on the fact that I’ve had AirB&B experiences that were both good and bad, and the bad ones killed the experience of that platform for me so I’m wary to f- around and find out with Turo.
–
So what do you think? Got a crazy car share story? Leave a comment below!
