This month, BCCA connected with our member Coast Car Co-op to learn more about their community impact. Read the full interview below.
Coast Car Co-op Members at their 2024 Annual General Meeting
Tell us about Coast Car Co-op. What is the community/member need you serve?
We are proud to be BC’s 6th locally owned Co-operative Carshare with 300+ drivers and 12,000+ vehicle bookings to date. The Coast Car Co-op was founded in 2013 to meet the gap in available transit on the coast and the high cost of owning and maintaining one or more vehicles. We are an affordable, flexible and greener alternative giving access to a range of vehicle types, with 6 vehicles in Gibsons, Roberts Creek and Sechelt. Our affiliation with Modo and Kootenay Carshare also gives our members access to over 1,000 vehicles in Metro Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Kelowna, and the Kootenays.
How did BCCA support your co-op? What was the impact of this support?
At launch we attended BCCA’s AGM in 2014, providing opportunities to network with other Cooperatives. Our original incorporation as a regular non-profit co-op proved difficult in meeting grant funding eligibility requirements. With recent support of BCCA, we revised our bylaws to become a Community Service Co-op. BCCA also provided a letter of support, explaining to potential funders that co-ops ARE nonprofits and DO meet eligibility requirements for grant funding.
What was your experience like working with the co-op developer? How did this work support your co-op?
In the fall of 2013 and early 2014 Marty Frost with DevCo proved an invaluable resource to us in starting off the Co-op. He helped navigate multiple elements which were new terrain for the executive director at that time (Johan Stroman) and the working board. He provided direct support in reviewing draft documentation, as well as providing board governance workshops with the whole team and also recommending options as we worked through multiple competing aspects: pro formas, budgets, operationalizing systems, building board capacity and creating working relationships with various agencies. Marty was approachable, professional, and very supportive through all phases of initiating and launching Coast Car Co-op back in late 2013 – early 2014. Without his support and related help from BCCA, we would not have succeeded in operationalizing the service as quickly and smoothly as we did.
What are some exciting developments or activities happening at Coast Car?
We are currently celebrating our 10th year of operation, and we have just added a 6th vehicle to our fleet. We now have three hybrids, one compact sedan and two pickup trucks stationed in central locations in Gibsons, Roberts Creek and Sechelt. We are also excited to be in negotiations with new developments in Gibsons that could see us add four new vehicles to our fleet in the next few years.
How can BCCA further support your co-operative’s success?
It would be helpful for BCCA to provide opportunities for the 3 remaining carshare organizations in BC (Kootenay Carshare, Modo and ourselves) to liaise on connecting our respective networks. While we have a working relationship with Modo, having BCCA facilitate conversations in this realm may be helpful in elevating opportunities for partnership/ joint efforts and seeking ways to enhance reach for members between each of these 3 organizations.
Learn more about Coast Car Co-op