“I hope that this organization can get started and operating in 2026 and from there we’ll gradually grow it,” says Miles Pruden with Propel Us, a potential new car sharing business in Kamloops.
The idea came from those involved Propolis, a housing cooperative that is aiming to develop affordable housing on the north shore with help from sales of community bonds. It is aiming to open the Tranquille Road apartment complex in 2026 and it hopes to be able to cut back on required parking spaces by having a car sharing service available on site. That is where Propel Us comes into play.
“We’ve just incorporated and now we’ve pivoted towards focusing on our business plan,” says Pruden. “We want to have it operational when propolis opens up their first building… pretty early on we noticed that having a car share, getting those parking reductions for households that don’t have cars. It really brings a lot more affordability to housing, but it also brings a lot more affordability to transportation.”
One of the challenges of launching this type of business is the need for a large customer base. In Kamloops, we saw difficulties with ride sharing companies entering the city because you need people to know the service is available and then to actually use it. It is a struggle between supply and demand.
“You need a customer base in a dense area.” Pruden says that is something that a development, like the Propolis idea, can provide right away. “So that’s what can get it get the car share started and at the same time the car share can allow some really deep affordability for certain demographic of people, you know, who don’t need to necessarily pay $50,000 for parking infrastructure for a vehicle they don’t own when they might be struggling to afford housing.”
Pruden says the service will look to be an option throughout the city, not just at one single housing complex. “We can save people a lot of money on their vehicles by offering a car share. It’s not a solution that’s going to work for everybody”
One of the ideas is that most people have been in a situation where they don’t need a car most of the time, but would like access to one to go to the grocery store. Or don’t need a pick-up truck, but would be nice to have one to do a quick dump run or take a trip to the hardware store. Or maybe even having access to a moving van for a short period of time. “Wouldn’t it be nice if you could have a little car when that’s all you need? And a big truck when that’s what you need?”
Pruden says most of the fleet would likely be electric to help save on operating costs.