#collcons

car2go

For all you busy bees out there this one’s for you. Need to get from downtown to kits in a flash? As the only service that offers 1-way travelling, you can grab one and leave one anywhere you please (well… not anywhere). Although one would argue that car2go trips replace ones that could easily be done by transit or cycling, there is something to be said about the convenience factor of these little smart cars, especially on a dark rainy night.  Definite cool factor. When you pass another car2go on your way, make sure to wave!

Zipcar

Hate Traffic? You just wait. Traffic isn't going to get any better - unless something changes drastically. So how are we going to avoid our looming fate of Global Gridlock? The idea of the entire planet being stuck in traffic is one that none of us want to see happen. Like many of the World's bigger issues, there is no single solution. To really save our bacon, we need to combine a multitude of ideas and tools, on a variety of scales. Many are looking to electric vehicles to pave the way to a greener future. Unfortunately, cleaner cars may not be the solution here because electric cars don’t take cars off the road, and will still contribute to gridlock. 

“Frankly, four billion clean cars on the road are still four billion cars, and a traffic jam with no emissions is still a traffic jam.”

The bright side...

The millennials don’t seem too keen on buying cars like their parents did, giving some hope to reducing cars on the road. 

There are alternatives. Technology is enabling us to connect with our neighbours and share rides. Carpooling will help cut down on the daily gridlock and dependancy on individually owned cars. There are various options for carpooling depending on your location or trip type. For long distance, once-in-a-while trips, try Pogoride to find rides in the Pacific North-West. For your daily commute, there are services such as go2gether or carma that match you with commuters in your network, who are already heading your way. 

Carsharing services such as car2go, zipcar and modo car co-op allow people to have access to a car just when they need one, rather than using their car for every single trip. 

Traffic is a nonlinear phenomena, meaning that by reducing traffic by even a small amount can have significant impact (note that this also works in the opposite way). Something such as congestion charges could be the answer. 

Car sales may slow naturally, as more of the world’s population move into cities. Some new urban mobility modelssuggest that car sales will drop by 30% by 2020.

One of the biggest take-aways from the evening was the idea that once you put on your "collaborative consumption goggles", you can see all of the idling capacity around you as you live your life.

Suddenly, you car (that sits idle 95% of the time) can be shared, paying for itself.

Or, better yet, share a car with the modo car coop!

Your home can be rented out on Airbnb during your vacation.

You can share a ride to work with your co-workers instead of facing traffic alone with go2gether.

The Economist has valued the peer-to-peer rental market along to be worth more than $26B, so start sharing!

Rinne was clear to state that "there's nothing new about sharing", but what is new is the ability to connect people to access like never before through technology.

What's really exciting is the endless opportunities in the Sharing Economy once you put on your collaborative goggles. It's no longer a question about what can you share. The question is now what can't you share? Rinne confessed that the only two she could think of are toothbrushes and wedding rings, but I suppose it's all about your comfort level!

My latest post: Top 10 Things A City Can Do to Become A Shareable City http://t.co/NKs5RojCKO via @collcons #ShareableCities #collcons

— April Rinne (@aprilrinne) February 12, 2014

Not only is there wealth in your stuff, but the definition of livelihoods is changing as well. Movements like taskrabbit help unemployed or underemployed people earn some money whenever they can. With earning money at your convenience, and having access to whatever you need at a fraction of the cost of ownership, maybe the new economy can change the way we see livelihoods. Sharing on a daily basis could mean working less hours, paying for less, creating less waste, meeting your neighbours locally and like-minded people internationally... the list goes on!

Vancouver is en-route to becoming a truly shareable city, helping people save money, work less hours, work some hours, reduce congestion, reduce waste, be greener, be happier, be richer. The policies will change once we do. At the moment we are in a grey area, holding back the sharing economy and preventing a necessary growth and shift in our economy. We need to get out of the grey zone and into the green zone. Part of this journey requires innovative players such as Vancity, Modo Car Co-op and go2gether to challenge the status quo, collaborate to bring innovative solutions to change the traditional economic model, policies and ecosystem, and eventually eliminate the grey zone completely, which means better governance and more connected communities. Innovation requires struggle, but this innovation needs to happen.

Try using one of these sharing services this week, and share with us what you loved or would rather change. Let's create a deeper dialogue about the New Economy in Vancouver now!