Kamloops university bringing in car-sharing program

Two new cars have just arrived on the Kamloops, B.C., campus of Thompson Rivers University.

While that wouldn't normally be something remarkable, these cars are noteworthy because they are the first of a fleet of car-sharing vehicles in the city.

TRU's sustainability office actively recruited the American company Zipcar to bring its service tocampus.

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"Today's students expect to have a car-sharing service on campus," said the director of the sustainability office Jim Gudjonson.

He says their office estimates about 30 per cent of students would use the service if it was available, and they hope to see staff, faculty and community members also take advantage of the service.

"It's expensive to own a car and to park it and [if] they only need it once or twice a week, maybe a couple times a month it's perfect for them," said Gudjonson.

There are plans to grow the number of Zipcars in Kamloops to between six and eight by the summer.

He says part of the goal of the service is to reduce parking congestion on campus.

"There's a lot of buzz. The students are petty excited about it," said Gudjonson.

The car-sharing service officially launcheson Jan. 9.

Zipcars are already operating in a number of B.C. communities including Vancouver, Whistlerand Kelowna.

A previous group, Interior CarShare Cooperative, had tried to start a car sharing group in the community, but it is currently not in operation.

With files from Daybreak Kamloops