SIDNEY – The Town of Sidney recently announced that it will provide more sustainable transportation options to residents, businesses and municipal staff through the addition of carsharing, in collaboration with Modo Co-operative.
For a town with fewer than 12,000 residents, this is big step forward and one that should allow Sidney to better manage its transportation challenges as the municipality grows.
Of Greater Victoria’s 13 municipalities, Sidney joins Victoria, Oak Bay, Saanich and Esquimalt in offering carsharing to the public. In addition, Sidney goes a step further, encouraging their employees to drive with Modo under its Business Account, for work-related trips.
“I am proud that my team was able to find an innovative way to bring carsharing to Sidney, perhaps before its time,” says Sidney Mayor Steve Price. “As we’ve seen in other neighbouring communities, carsharing has proven to reduce transportation costs for residents and businesses, improve traffic and air quality, and make better use of our land.”
Starting today, municipal staff and members of the public will be able to book Modo’s Toyota RAV4 hybrid electric and a fuel-efficient Honda Fit. The cars will be conveniently located on Fourth Street next to the Town Hall parking lot, and on Third Street, between Beacon and Sidney Avenues, by the entrance to the Third Street parking lot.
“It’s great to see a relatively small town like Sidney be proactive about carsharing,” says Modo CEO Patrick Nangle. “We were pleased they reached out to Modo and even happier we could collaborate to find an innovative way to support them, sooner rather than later.”
With an additional 46 Modo vehicles in nearby Victoria, cars stationed at all four major ferry crossings, and 500 more on the mainland, residents of Sidney now have access to affordable, convenient and sustainable transportation when they need it, without the hassle and cost of car ownership. Employers are also expected to see the number of staff commuting by foot, bike and transit increase, with Modo available to them during the day for business and personal trips.
