Car share vehicles getting stuck in snow

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) -Another round of heavy snowfall has left more than a few abandoned vehicles on Lower Mainland roads, including some precariously parked car share rides.

Photos circulating social media show several car shares stuck in snowed-in parking spots, up on curbs and in one case, one unlucky Modo vehicle was abandoned in the middle of an intersection. Companies have also reported an increase in cancellations.

Although policies vary, most car shares companies say a driver should do everything they can to park the car safely and legally and if they gets stuck, clients have a responsibility to call the company right away to report the incident.

“In the cases where a car flies off the road or is in an unsafe location, we do ask them to call us and we dispatch our own in-house road assist to recover the vehicle,” Evo director Tai Silvey says, adding the company has the added luxury of being owned by BCAA giving them quick access to tow trucks.

Tow trucks will prioritize any car, shared or otherwise, that is blocking traffic or is in an unsafe or illegal location, Silvey says.

“Any driver on the road, whether they drive Modo, any other car share, or their own car should be thinking about safety first and pulling over and parking as safely as possible, without the nose of the car sticking out is always ideal, it’s not always possible. I don’t think we can have a higher expectation of a car share driver than we can of a driver of their own vehicle,” Modo’s Selena McLachlan says, adding because their company is a member-owned cooperative, drivers have extra incentive to treat the car like their own.

All of Evo’s 1,000 cars have all season tires and 60 of Modo’s 500 vehicles have winter tires. Thirty Modo cars have all wheel drive and the rest of the fleet has all-season tires. Both companies have crews who clear snow off cars and dig them out.

Both Evo and Modo are waiving their cancellation fees so drivers don’t feel they have to drive if they aren’t comfortable and in most genuine stuck vehicle cases, the driver won’t be penalized if the car is in an awkward or illegal position.

“If a car is parked in unsafe of obstructive way and city issues a ticket, we pay that ticket and could pass it on to member if we think it was the members fault for parking that way,” Silvey says, encouraging drivers to report vehicles as soon as possible.

In many cases, cars are equipped with brushes and ice scrapers, and McLachlan says they are considering adding shovels.

“We’re also considering whether or not we want to engage our members in helping us dig cars out potentially in exchange for some driving credits,” she says.

Modo is also offering one-hour driving rewards to members who report stranded company vehicles to make sure no car is left unattended.