Modo is a member-owned carshare operator in British Columbia. It was incorporated in 1997, making it the oldest car-sharing organization in the area, the first carshare co-op in North America[1] and the first carshare in the English-speaking world.[2] Modo amalgamated with the Victoria Carshare Co-op in 2015 and now serves 25 municipalities in the Lower Mainland and Greater Victoria.

Modo
FormerlyThe Co-operative Auto Network
Company typeCooperative
IndustryCarsharing
FoundedJanuary 1997 (1997-01) in Vancouver, British Columbia
Headquarters200-470 Granville Street, Vancouver
311-895 Fort Street, Victoria
Area served
Greater Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, Gibsons, British Columbia
Websitemodo.coop

As of 2023, Modo had over 30,000 individual and business members and a fleet of approximately 1000 vehicles, including cars, trucks, SUVs, passenger and cargo vans, hybrids, battery electric vehicles[3] and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.[4] Modo has vehicles across British Columbia, including Vancouver, UBC, Richmond, Surrey, New Westminster, Burnaby, North Vancouver, Coquitlam, Port Moody, Victoria, Oak Bay, Esquimalt and Saanich,[5][6] and at the Horseshoe Bay, Tsawwassen, Langdale and Swartz Bay ferry terminals.

Modo offers two-way, roundtrip carsharing. Each of its vehicles has a designated parking space, with cars picked up and dropped off at the same location.

History

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  • In October 2014, Victoria Car Share was merged into Modo.[7] Then in June 2018, Modo acquired the Okanagan Car Share Co-op in Kelowna.[8]
  • Since July 2016, Modo's CEO is Patrick Nangle, a former Purolator executive.[9]
  • In June 2017, Modo entered into a partnership with TransLink to provide vehicles for the transit authority's Vanpool pilot project.[10][11]
  • In July 2018, Modo began allowing drivers with learner's licenses to use its fleet of vehicles, making it the first carshare in North America to do so.[12]
  • In August 2018, Modo, along with Coast Car Co-op, became permanently located at the Langdale Ferry Terminal in Gibson, British Columbia.[13]
  • In August 2023, Modo marked the launch of their 1,000th vehicle - a Hyundai IONIQ 5 EV.[14]

References

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  1. ^ Trevor Jansen. "Modo: The New Face of Vancouver's First Car Co-op". BC Living. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  2. ^ Ted Laturnus (May 24, 2011). "Car-sharing organizations make car ownership unnecessary". Georgia Straight. Archived from the original on November 27, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  3. ^ "CEO Update – September 2023". Modo. September 7, 2023. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  4. ^ Heyman, Dan (March 18, 2019). "Hyundai partnering with MODO car share to offer fuel-cell technology". Autotrader.ca. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  5. ^ Murray, Nick (May 30, 2019). "Hit the road with new car-share service in Central Saanich". Oak Bay News. Black Press. Archived from the original on June 23, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  6. ^ Cleverley, Bill (March 17, 2019). "Central Saanich gears up to bring car-sharing to community". Times Colonist. Glacier Media. Archived from the original on June 23, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  7. ^ Hyslop, Lucy (October 1, 2014). "Modo and Victoria Car Share to merge". BC Business. Archived from the original on June 23, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  8. ^ "Kelowna's OGO Car Share Co-op joins Modo". Kelowna Now. June 1, 2018. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  9. ^ "Ex-Purolator CEO Patrick Nangle takes the wheel at Modo car-share". Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  10. ^ Chan, Kenneth (June 7, 2019). "TransLink sees initial success with new carpool program". Daily Hive Vancouver. Archived from the original on June 23, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  11. ^ "TransLink, Seaspan vanpool pilot scrapped after no one signed up". Archived from the original on 2021-11-28. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  12. ^ Crawford, Robyn; Little, Simon (July 5, 2018). "Vancouver carshare co-op to permit 'L' and 'N' drivers behind the wheel". CKNW. Corus Entertainment. Archived from the original on 23 June 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2019 – via Global News.
  13. ^ "Modo and Coast Car Co-op collaborate to bring shared vehicles to Langdale". Modo Car Co-op. November 13, 2019. Archived from the original on November 13, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  14. ^ "CEO Update – September 2023". Modo. September 7, 2023. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
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