AutoShare has slashed its rates for Toronto university students in a bid to capture a growing share of the student car sharing market.
The car share service has partnered with Chevrolet Canada which will provide 16 2015 Chevrolet Cruze, Sonic and Trax vehicles at Ryerson University, University of Toronto and York University.
As part of the program, students at the three universities will pay $6 hourly rates when they drive Chevrolet cars, compared to standard rates that start at $8.25 an hour. In addition, registration and first year annual fees are being waived for university students 18 to 27 who sign up for the program. Annual fees will be discounted for students who remain with the program for more than a year.
The venture into the university market is “a natural evolution” for car sharing, says Kyle Sabie, corporate rental manager, car share division at St. Louis, Missouri-based Enterprise, which acquired Toronto’s AutoShare in 2014. The car rental firm also operates Enterprise CarShare at about 130 universities in the U.S. and at the University of Regina and University of Saskatchewan.
Sabie says technology like apps have made car sharing much simpler and that car share firms are slowly becoming more comfortable about extending their reach to the student market, by providing them with insurance and dropping age minimums. “From an Enterprise perspective, it represents a great opportunity. It’s part of our value chain proposition.”
He says students may get their first exposure to the company by using its car sharing service and, when they graduate, continue with AutoShare if they stay in Toronto or use Enterprise Rent-A-Car for car rentals. “We really feel this kind of connects the dots.”
For Chevrolet, the deal may whet students’ appetites for its models. Enterprise has done research that implies the car rental experience comes into play in the decision to buy a new car. In one study, it found 68% of millennials “considered purchasing” a specific model of car after renting, and almost 33% said a positive rental experience sparked an interest in ditching the old ride and getting a new one.
The AutoShare university deal is being promoted on its social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest). AutoShare is also working with Chevrolet’s PR and social teams in Canada to increase awareness in the program, Sabie says.
As well, brand ambassadors and street teams will be hired to sign up students, he says. Traditional media, such as student newspapers, will be used on a case-by-case basis. “Sometimes the metrics on that make a lot of sense and sometimes they don’t.”
Zipcar, another car sharing service in Toronto, offers programs for students at colleges such as Humber and Seneca.
Argyle Public Relationships is handling media relations.
