Key Takeaways: January 2026 CSO Member Chat
Our January CSO Chat brought together operators, board members, and partners from across North America to share what’s working, what’s changing, and where the biggest pressure points are showing up right now. As always, the goal was simple: create space for real operator-to-operator conversation—what’s on your mind, what you’re trying to solve, and what you’ve learned the hard way.
Below is a recap for members who couldn’t attend live.
Charging Community support models: credits, partnerships, and “doing good” in a sustainable way Cutting & Infrastructure Vandalism
A major early theme was how carshare organizations can support communities through partnerships, especially when local conditions make access to transportation more urgent.
HourCar (Minneapolis–St. Paul) shared how they’ve been offering drive credits to community organizations supporting people who may not feel safe or comfortable leaving home. The idea sparked a wider conversation about different models members have used to provide access while managing financial realities.
Practical models members are using
A) Loaning or allocating fleet access during critical periods (COVID and beyond)
Evo (Vancouver) shared a two-part approach:
- During early COVID, when demand dropped sharply, they loaned vehicles to healthcare workers so the fleet could support essential trips
- Building from those relationships, Evo then developed private fleet programs—vehicles reserved in-app for a small, defined group such as nurse practitioners and administrators.
Evo also described an upcoming partnership idea tied to a children’s hospital and volunteer drivers, supporting families who travel into Vancouver for care and stay at Ronald McDonald House. The concept: improve access to groceries, appointments, and essential errands for families who may have flown in from elsewhere in the province.
B) Promo-code credits for targeted needs (voting access and more)
MioCar (California) shared how they use promo codes to provide free rides for key moments, including ensuring members can access transportation to vote on election days. This model is simple operationally: the member is already onboarded, and the operator applies a promo code that covers the trip cost.
C) Housing authority partnerships (equity-focused access)
Colorado CarShare (Boulder/Denver) shared how they partner with local housing authorities to support residents in low-income housing. In practice, this often looks like:
- a subsidy or funding flow from the partner organization, and
- the operator converting that support into promo credits or discounted rates tied to eligible addresses/buildings.
Insurance: what operators want from the upcoming webinar (and from insurers)
Insurance was the most urgent shared pressure point of the call. Multiple participants noted rising premiums and high deductibles, with a common frustration: operators are often told what they’ll be charged, but not what steps would measurably improve pricing.
What members said they want (clearly)
Operators asked for concrete, actionable guidance, such as:
- “If we implement X, does our deductible drop?”
- “Which technologies actually reduce cost—dash cams, telematics, speeding alerts?”
- “Do internal enforcement programs change outcomes from an insurer’s perspective?”
- “What underwriting signals make a carshare operator more attractive to insure?”
There was also a strong interest in comparative learning, including:
- sharing deductible ranges across markets,
- unpacking what’s driving cost differences (geography, fleet type, claims history, driver screening), and
- identifying which steps are “worth it” vs. costly add-ons that don’t change pricing.
Risk management as the umbrella theme
From a framing standpoint, the conversation leaned toward positioning insurance under risk management, looking at what operators can control regardless of region:
- driver screening and onboarding
- internal policies and enforcement
- incident response procedures
- vehicle technology and monitoring
- standardized operating practices across the sector
Members also discussed longer-term ideas, including:
exploring a pooled approach through the association (acknowledging it may be complex and multi-year), and
In-vehicle cameras and privacy: benefits, concerns, and safeguards
In-vehicle cameras came up as a potential risk-management lever. Some members noted strong operational benefits and positive experiences, while others raised important concerns about privacy and potential misuse of surveillance data.
The shared takeaway: if cameras become part of a best-practice conversation, the industry also needs clear safeguards—data retention limits, access controls, purpose limitations, and transparent member communication—so safety benefits don’t come at the cost of trust.
This topic is likely to continue in an upcoming chat, alongside broader “what tech belongs in the vehicle” discussion (cameras, smoke detection, alerts, etc.).
Conference ideas: more practical workshops for smaller CSOs
The call closed with a forward-looking discussion about the October conference in Vancouver, especially how programming can better support smaller operators.
Members expressed interest in:
- a dedicated stream of workshops for smaller CSOs (fleet ops, budgets, pricing, SOPs, staffing realities)
- opportunities to “talk shop” with operators at a similar scale
- breakout discussions by fleet type (EV-only vs mixed fleets)
- practical content on working with cities—how to build relationships, what policies matter, and how to communicate value clearly
- creating reusable “why carshare” materials operators can bring back to their local communities