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Peg City Car Co-op Announces Expansion Goals

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We’re already looking ahead to the new year, and a new year means new growth.

Over the next 9-12 months our members will be part of our most ambitious expansion goals yet! 

June 24, 2011: Cutting the ribbon at the launch of Peg City Car Co-op.

A little over eight years ago, Peg City Car Co-op started with a handful of members and three cars. We didn’t know what kind of market (if any) there was for carsharing. All we could hope for, is that if we provided a well run and affordable alternative to car ownership, The People would follow! It’s taken time for the momentum to build, but we have been able to grow almost every year. 

The last couple of years has seen some of our quickest growth. In the last 24 months, we have grown from a fleet of about 20 vehicles to 40 vehicles. We have added trucks, minivans, and cargo vans to our fleet. 

We are looking to continue to build on that momentum. That’s why we we’re announcing an expansion plan of 15-20 vehicles in the next 9-12 months. That’s right – up to 20 vehicles. That will bring our fleet to 60 cars total! 

With that growth, we plan on expanding into new neighbourhoods, to be announced later. We will also be adding at least one additional vehicle (and in most cases more)  to our existing neighbourhoods. As part of our goal to add value for our members, we also plan on continuing to diversify our fleet with our first all wheel drive (AWD) vehicles, a full sized cargo van,  as well as more trucks and minivans!  

As part of our first phase of growth, we have added three new vehicles to our fleet in October, in the Downtown/Exchange District and Corydon Village neighbourhoods. 

  • 170 McDermot Avenue 
  • 190 Smith Street
  • 842 McMillan Avenue (This is a temporary spot – we will be moving to 247 Wellington Crescent after construction is completed there.)

Our current members can be part of this growth and earn driving credits by referring new members to Peg City Car Co-op, participating in our Ambassador Program on social media, and more. Contact Member Services to see how you can help more Winnipeggers get on board with carsharing.

Stay tuned as we grow like never before! 

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Good Read: Take my keys, please

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“More Winnipeggers are forgoing their cars, creating new attitudes and business opportunities.” Read on!

Thank you to Jen Zoratti at the Winnipeg Free Press for chatting with us about how we fit into the transportation conversation in Winnipeg.

Peg City Co-op operations manager Philip Mikulec says two reasons people join the car-sharing co-op is for environmental and financial reasons. (Phil Hossack / Winnipeg Free Press)
Peg City Co-op operations manager Philip Mikulec says two reasons people join the car-sharing co-op is for environmental and financial reasons. (Phil Hossack / Winnipeg Free Press)

Here’s an excerpt:

“In the past 12 months, we’ve seen a growth in our fleet and membership of 30 per cent, and we’re continuing that trajectory,” says Philip Mikulec, operations manager at Peg City Co-op.

“Besides the laudable environmental goals, people who are joining car-sharing are largely doing it for economic reasons. This speaks to the change in the way people use our service and the kind of demand we’re seeing in our fleet. As we mature, we’re seeing more and more people joining because I think they see the economic benefits to themselves of not owning a car and having a reliable service they can use.”

So who uses car-sharing? At first, Peg City’s membership base was mostly the early adopters, or “avid non-car owners.” As the idea of a car co-op has become more accepted and mainstream, that base has widened to include people from a wide cross-section of socio-economic backgrounds. Based on Peg City’s data, the co-op’s core membership is made up of young, highly educated professionals who live in six-figure households. They tend to live and work either downtown or in the Exchange District. “They’d rather not spend $300 a month on parking alone,” Mikulec says.

Car-sharing doesn’t just help reduce household budgets by lessening the financial burden of car ownership. It also helps reduce carbon footprints. Carshare vehicles tend to be newer, more efficient and better maintained. Mikulec says industry data show that for every car-share vehicle put on the road, 10 to 15 vehicles are shed.

Mikulec believes Winnipeg has the potential to become a 100 to 200-car sharing city.

Even avid drivers are coming around on the idea of car-sharing. “We’re still speaking the same language — it’s about cars,” Mikulec says.

Philip Mikulec, operations manager of Peg City Co-op, the city's only car-sharing program, which has 33 vehicles and 1,200 members. (Phil Hossack / Winnipeg Free Press)
Philip Mikulec, operations manager of Peg City Co-op, the city’s only car-sharing program, which has 33 vehicles and 1,200 members. (Phil Hossack / Winnipeg Free Press)

CLICK HERE to read the full article. 

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Happy New Year!

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We had a very exciting year. Thank you to our board, staff, investors and all of our members for supporting carsharing in Winnipeg!

In 2018, we expanded our network and grew from 26 vehicles in June to 32 by December! We added a few bigger vehicles to our fleet, including a cargo van, a second truck, and a third van.

We partnered with some wonderful local groups, like Bike Valet WinnipegRainbow Trout Music Festival, and Synonym Art Consultation, to name a few. One of our cars is featured below in a custom art wrap for Synonym’s Wall to Wall mural festival. This dynamic art car will be on the road all throughout 2019 for our members to drive. An exciting opportunity came up for Peg City Car Co-op to once again offer investment shares – thanks to the Manitoba Community Enterprise Development Tax Credit Program – and we raised $200,000 to help us reach our goal of 50 vehicles by 2021. The future of carsharing in Winnipeg is looking mighty bright!

ANDREW RYAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Philip Mikulec is the operations manager of Peg City Co-op which has been in operation for eight years and is looking to expand it’s operations with a new public offering. Shot on June 26, 2018.

For our Members, we added more perks and benefits, like opportunities to earn driving credits, and even free concert tickets from our friends at the West End Cultural Centre. We are very excited to see what 2019 holds for us. We will be announcing the date for our Annual General Meeting soon, and we’ll be looking to add a few new faces to our board – sign up for our e-newsletter to stay in touch.

To all our Members, thank you for continuing to help us grow. If you know someone who is interested in carsharing, and you refer them to Peg City Car Co-op, you each receive a $25 driving credit. All they have to do is mention your name to us after they’ve signed up. If you’ve been thinking about joining, we would love to talk to you about it! Have a look at our map to find a car near you, browse the membership plans we offer, and then give us call. Already know the plan that would best suit you? Sign up HERE, and we’ll have you driving in no time.

All the best to you & yours in the New Year!

Peg City Car Co-op

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Good Read: Love the Bus, Save Your City

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“Talk of the transportation future is focused on the next shiny thing. But one old technology is central to real transformation.” 

“…there is no inherent reason that buses must be bottom-shelf transportation. We’ve just treated them that way.”

While the stats may be about bus ridership in the United States, but our buses need love, too.

Click here to read the full article.

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Good Read: Study Finds People Tend to Overestimate How Long It Takes to Walk and Bike

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Interesting! Have you mapped out what your commute would you look like if you walked or biked to work? How long would it *really* take?

“A new study published in a journal called Transportmetrica A: Transport Science shows that people often overestimate the time required to commute actively, a miscalculation especially common when someone has secured a parking permit near the office.

The survey participants proved to be generally poor at guessing active-commuting times. About 90 percent of their estimates were too long by at least 10 minutes. The few assessments close to Google’s were almost always made by riders or walkers.”

Illustration by Giacomo Bagnara

 Click here to read the full article. 

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Good Read: City Should Consider Streetcar Revival

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This one is relevant to our own transportation situation … because it’s about us, Winnipeg!

From the Winnipeg Free Press:

“Unlike rapid transit, where the primary goal is to transport twice-a-day commuters between distant suburbs and the inner city, streetcars are neighbourhood connectors, travelling slower, shorter distances, with more stops. They differ from buses because their image, ride quality, capacity and ease of use attract a broader transit rider demographic.””With frequent stops, which promote pedestrian and sidewalk retail activity, streetcars can inspire an improved neighbourhood economic vitality and social vibrancy. This, along with an attractive, modern image and improved access to mobility, creates demand along transit corridors for places to live and work. The public commitment to rail infrastructure provides a guarantee of permanence that ensures developer investment follows demand.”

Click here to read the full article.

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Good Read: From ding dings to funiculars, 10 cities with the best transport – in pictures

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From The Guardian.com: “European cities occupy seven of the top 10 spots, with Zurich at number two.

“The Swiss city’s public transport system is highly affordable, modern and efficient – all reasons why it takes first place in the profit sub-index. More people work in Zurich than live there, so expanding the public transport network and improving its upkeep and accessibility are key parts of the local government’s mobility strategy. A visionary part of the strategy is the cargo sous terrain project, an underground freight system, that will use driverless vehicles for unloading and distributing goods.”

Click here to read the full article

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Good Read: What Makes a Complete Street? A Brief Guide

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A few fun, constructive thoughts on what makes a “complete street”, from CityFix.com:

“Complete streets designs ensure mobility to road users of all types by designing facilities that are safe, accessible, and welcoming. They can improve the efficiency of a space, reduce congestion as well as improve the performance of transport networks. Keep an eye out for elements of complete streets in your neighbourhood – and if you don’t see them, help make cities better for everyone by getting involved or speaking to your local government.”

Click here to read the full article.

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Good Read: Climate Revenues Could Transform Transportation

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“With almost two-thirds of Manitobans living in Winnipeg’s metropolitan area, targeted, forward-looking investment in the city’s urban infrastructure represents a significant opportunity to make bold moves that leverage those dollars to reduce our carbon footprint, grow the economy and build a more competitive and progressive city.

Establishing a modern, urban public transportation system is one of these key opportunities with multi-faceted benefits.”

Boris Minkevich / Winnipeg Free Press Files

“Since 1970, Winnipeg has grown by more than 60 per cent in area but only 30 per cent in population. By building a low-density, sprawling city, we are accelerating the growing gap between tax revenue and escalating service and infrastructure costs. Automobile use is continuing to rise, commuting distances, traffic congestion and GHG emissions are increasing, and spending on road maintenance and construction is growing.”

Click here to read the full article. 

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Good Read: 5 Reasons Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes

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“People unfamiliar with the idea of the bicycle as real transportation sometimes see Amsterdam—the famously bike-friendly Dutch capital—as a fantasyland that has very little to do with the grown-up transportation world of cars and trucks. In reality, a readjustment of perspective is needed, since Amsterdam has succeeded in creating a transportation system that is one of the most successful in the world.”

“Making a city where most trips are done on bikes requires utterly discarding conventional car-centric ways of thinking about transportation. Over the last 60 years, Amsterdam’s leaders, planners and designers have by trial and error created a template for a city where bikes are the dominant force in transportation planning and design. That template has five essential characteristics; skip or short-change any one of them and your city of bikes won’t work as well.”

Click here to read the full article.

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