Montréal, April 16, 2025 – Communauto, Canada’s leading carsharing service, along with the City of Montreal and the City of Longueuil, announces a major expansion of its carsharing service for 2025 in response to ever-growing demand. Highlights include the addition of 700 vehicles across the Montreal region, the continued development of the FLEX and Return FLEX offers, and the launch of the FLEX service in Longueuil.
Fleet Expansion and Growing Adoption
In 2024, Communauto grew its fleet in Montreal with a net addition of 800 vehicles, representing a 25% increase. The Montreal fleet now includes 4,400 vehicles. Thanks to these additions, 15% of Montreal households used Communauto’s services. Collectively, users made 3.5 million reservations and travelled 110 million kilometres.
In 2025, to keep up with increasing demand, Communauto plans to add 700 more vehicles throughout the year. This summer, 600 of these will be station-based, while 100 will operate in FLEX mode. This distribution will be reversed approaching the winter of 2025-2026, with a larger proportion of FLEX vehicles.
FLEX Service Launches in Longueuil and Expands in Montreal
For the first time, the FLEX service will be available in the City of Longueuil within the coming weeks, made possible through collaboration with the municipality. The service will cover an area bounded by Saint-Charles and du Coteau-Rouge streets, between Saint-Jacques and Joliette. This zone will be accessible to FLEX vehicles from both Montreal and Longueuil.
The City of Longueuil has also approved an expansion of the station-based service by providing 17 new spaces across 10 parking lots for Communauto vehicles. This enhancement will bring Longueuil’s station-based service to 67 vehicles across 34 stations.
In Montreal, the FLEX service area will expand to include Rivière-des-Prairies, Pointe-aux-Trembles, LaSalle (Boulevard Newman), Saint-Laurent (Chameran), and Lachine. Among the 50+ new stations to be added in 2025, several will be located in areas that were previously underserved, such as Saint-Simon in Ahuntsic, LaSalle, and Saint-Léonard.
Continued Expansion of Return FLEX Project in Partnership with the City of Montreal
In partnership with the City of Montreal, Communauto will continue its Return FLEX project in 2025, adding 70 new zones across 8 boroughs. Initially piloted in 2024, the initiative has proven successful, allowing users in central neighbourhoods better access to vehicles during the winter months when reservation-based cars must be removed to avoid interfering with snow removal operations.
Additionally, 15 new station zones will be added across the territory in 2025.
User Satisfaction Is Confirmed as Well as the Benefits on Mobility and the Environment
Preliminary results from a survey conducted in early April confirm users’ appreciation of the service: 89% would recommend Communauto to others.
The survey, answered by 4,300 users with a 1% margin of error (19 times out of 20), also confirmed carsharing’s role in reducing car ownership and usage. 82% of Communauto users’ households do not own a car. Moreover, 69% of all users say Communauto was the key factor that enabled them to sell (23%) or forgo purchasing a vehicle (46%).
In Montreal, 30% of users sold their household’s only vehicle when they joined the service, and 42% said they would buy a car if Communauto were no longer available.
Among those who joined within the last 12 months, users reported reducing their car use by an average of 41% — a figure close to the 34% reduction reported by all users in the previous 2023 survey.
Quotes
“Montrealers’ enthusiasm for carsharing is stronger than ever! We are thrilled to see Communauto continuing its expansion with 700 new vehicles and new stations in underserved neighborhoods, along with the extension of the FLEX service to Longueuil. We share a common vision of sustainable mobility, and carsharing is a key component of that vision in Montreal. This expansion helps diversify mobility options, reduce solo car use, ease road congestion, and decarbonize transportation, all while improving quality of life for Montrealers and the wider metropolitan region.” - Sophie Mauzerolle, Executive Committee Member for Transportation and Mobility, City of Montreal
“The arrival of Communauto’s FLEX service in Longueuil is a tangible step forward in improving mobility on our territory. By making carsharing more accessible, we offer residents a simple, affordable alternative to private car ownership, while easing pressure on our roads and parking. It’s a solution that aligns with our commitment to building a more sustainable city, by promoting transportation choices that truly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve quality of life.” - Jonathan Tabarah, Vice President of the Executive Committee, Head of Finance, Infrastructure, and Sustainable Mobility, City of Longueuil
“Communauto is a mobility service deeply rooted in communities, just like public transit or taxi services. Its mission remains unchanged: to offer sustainable, accessible service to as many people as possible — not just in high-demand or high-profit areas. This approach aims to reduce reliance on private cars and strengthen the complementarity of active and public transportation. The significant developments in recent years, as well as those planned for 2025 — both in terms of service scale and geographic reach — clearly reflect this progress. Moreover, the fact that 15% of Montreal households already use Communauto, and that nearly 90% of users recommend it, confirms the relevance and necessity of maintaining and growing a service like Communauto.” - Benoît Robert, President and Founder, Communauto
About Communauto
Founded in Quebec City in 1994, Communauto is the largest carsharing service in Canada and the oldest in North America. It operates on two continents in around 20 cities, including Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax, and Paris. Communauto offers both round-trip and free-floating (FLEX) services without the need for advance reservation. With a fleet of 7,000 vehicles, it has the largest network of shared electric cars in Canada, and one of the largest in North America.
As a company with a social, environmental, and urban mission, Communauto aims to reduce the impact of cars on cities while improving mobility access by offering a real alternative to private car ownership.
Contact:
Marco Viviani
Vice President, Strategic Development
Communauto
drp@communauto.ca