Markham Archives - Womens Post

General Motors announced this week it will launch Maven, a car-sharing service, in Toronto. Maven is a mobility app that provides on-demand vehicle access, allowing members to enjoy the benefits of car ownership without actually needing to own a car.

Using your smartphone, a customer can choose a location or a car type, and then unlock the vehicle upon arrival. Vehicles are available by the hour and all reservations include gas and insurance (minus a deductable. Rates start as low as $9 per hour and users can choose from one of 40 vehicles, including Chevrolet Cruze, Malibu, Tahoe, Trax and Volt; GMC Acadia and Yukon; and Cadillac ATS and XT5. Each vehicle is equipped with OnStar, Wi-Fi, Apple Carplay, Android Auto, and SeriusXM Radio. There is no preliminary fee for renting a vehicle.

“Toronto has a unique spirit. Residents are constantly on the go and want more sharing and mobility options,” said Julia Steyn, vice president, General Motors Urban Mobility and Maven, in a statement. “Maven offers cars Torontonians want to drive to help them be there for the moments that matter.”

Toronto will be the first city outside of the U.S. to host Maven.

General Motors recently opened up a campus in Markham, something it is calling ” the largest automotive technology development centre of its kind in Canada” and will focus on innovation in mobility. “Bringing Maven car sharing to Toronto not only reduces congestion, but also represents the latest step in the development of General Motors’ mobility footprint in Canada,” said Steve Carlisle, president and managing director, General Motors of Canada. “…[it] furthers our ability to bring new solutions to existing problems and redefine the future of mobility in Toronto and beyond.”

The most challenging part of the launch will be the parking, in terms of Maven’s park and pick-up model. Toronto city council voted to delay debate on a pilot that would have granted residential parking permits to car-sharing companies like Car2Go and Zipcar. Finding places to leave the cars during off-peak hours may prove problematic.

What do you think? Is there room for another car-sharing service in Toronto? Let us know in the comments below!

Executive Committee voted to move forward the Relief Line and the Yonge Subway Extension for city council approval.

Next week, city council will vote to approve the Carlaw alignment for the Relief Line and move to start the “Transit Project Assessment Process.” The alignment for the southern section of the relief line will travel down Carlaw from north of the Go tracks at Gerrard Ave. to Queen St. East.

Council will also vote on advancing the planning and design of the Yonge Subway Extension.

The discussion about these two transit projects began with statements by York Region chair Wayne Emmerson, Makham Mayor Frank Scarpitti, and Richmond Hill Mayor Dave Barrow. Each city leader pledged their support for both the Relief Line and the Yonge North Extension and they be built concurrently.

The support for the relief line being built concurrently with the North Extension is significant since the extension will bring more people from the GTA into the downtown core and Line 1 is nearing capacity. Without the relief line, those new transit users won’t be able to use to get on the subway once they enter the city.

City councillors were given the opportunity to ask questions of the York region representatives, including joint-funding and their decision to oppose the creation of tolls, which would have provided much-needed revenue towards these projects. Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti spent most of his time at executive committee praising the provincial government for providing starting funds for both transit projects, despite the fact the amount is minimal. Toronto Mayor John Tory emphasized that it will take all three levels of government to move these projects forward, saying there is a distinction between funding for the planning of a project, and the construction of a project.

In the end, everyone agreed that more funding is needed for both the relief line and the Yonge Extension. This decision is a far cry from Tory’s threat last week to withdraw his support for the Yonge Extension unless the province provided more funding for the relief line. It appears as though Tory made a deal with the York mayors that he will support the extension if they publicly support his bid for the relief line.

A few amendments were added to the original report before it passed, including a cost-analysis of the northern section of the relief line and the renaming of that section as the “Don Mills Line”.

City Council will be held on May 24 at city hall.