By Patricia Balcom
Living in a neighbourhood with walk and transit scores of 99, I don’t often have occasion to rent a car. But when I do, Vrtucar (recently purchased by Montreal-based Communauto) is a reasonably priced and convenient option.
Once you become a member of Vrtucar and receive your membership number and fob, you have access to a fleet of cars–Toyota Corolla, Prius C, and Yaris—in Lowertown, and Nissan mini cargo van and Toyota Rav4 in Sandy Hill. You can rent a car from 30 minutes to several days or even a month, by booking your car on-line, with an app on your phone or by telephone. (There is a small charge for booking by telephone.) Unlike traditional car rental offices, Vrtucars are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When you pick up your car, you “fob in” to unlock the car at the chosen location, and away you go! At the end of your journey, you return the car to the station where you picked it up; by “fobbing out”, its return is registered at Vrtucar. Gas is included in the price of renting the car, and unless the tank is less than one-quarter full you don’t need to fill it up before returning it.
In Lowertown West there are cars at St. Andrew and Dalhousie, St. Andrew and Cumberland, Dalhousie and Guigues, Clarence and Dalhousie and Cumberland and George; in Lowertown East cars can be found at King Edward and York, Nelson and York and Rideau and Augusta. (There are also several stations across Rideau Street, on Besserer and Stewart streets.)
There are a variety of plans depending on your needs, all of which are described on the website: https://www.vrtucar.com/ Vrtucar recommends that you start with the “Open Plan” if you’re not sure which plan is best for you. This means you can try Vrtucar service before committing to a “Value Plan”. The various plans are laid out clearly on the website, and you can call their local number–613-798-1900–if you have any questions.
Besides providing you with access to cars anywhere in the Ottawa-Gatineau area, as a member of Vrtucar you can also rent cars in Kingston, southwestern Ontario (London, Hamilton, Guelph, Kitchener), Montreal, Quebec City, Sherbrooke. You can even rent cars in Halifax and Paris!
Insurance is included in the rental price, with a deductible of $0, $300 or $600 per accident. If you incur toll charges, they are added to your invoice, with no added service fees. You are only billed once a month, on the 15th . And unlike conventional car-rental companies where you have to be at least 25 years old to rent a car, at Vrtucar drivers only need to be 19, with a G class license and a minimum of 2 years’ driving experience.
Vrtucar is very popular in Lowertown, particularly in the summer, so it’s a good idea to book in advance. Even booking over a week in advance in July, I couldn’t get my preferred station, but all stations in Lowertown East were within a five-minute walk.
Vrtucar is a practical way to have access to a car when you need one, free of car payments, maintenance costs, registration, insurance, gas and parking. It is a useful addition to getting around on foot, by bike or by bus, so you will drive less and reduce your carbon footprint.