1) A first look at the conference program

The CSA's Executive Director walked members through an early draft of the conference agenda. Keynote speaker Tim Papandreou will open the event with a talk on AI, autonomous vehicles, and where carsharing fits into the future of cities. A second plenary will explore the relationship between carsharing and municipal partners, featuring the BC playbook work done with TransLink on expanding carsharing province-wide. A third session, an insurance-focused plenary called "Make Us or Break Us," will take a closer look at how insurers make coverage decisions, featuring Intact following its recent fleet partnership with Communauto.

2) Small CSO Series: building a volunteer committee

Alongside the plenaries, the conference will include a dedicated Small CSO Series: six 45-minute, hands-on sessions across the two days, aimed specifically at smaller operators. Rather than finalize the agenda alone, the Executive Director asked for a small volunteer committee to help refine the sessions before bringing them back to the group for feedback. A few members offered to help — including checking whether an operations manager could join, and sitting in on one or two planning sessions despite a busy stretch elsewhere.

3) Conference ticket and hotel reminders

• Members should have received a unique discount code by email allowing one complimentary conference ticket per organization — anyone who can't locate theirs should reach out to info@carsharing.org.
• Additional attendees from the same organization can register at 50% off using code CSAMEMBER2026 ($150 instead of $300).
• Discounted conference hotel rooms are going fast; members who haven't booked yet, or who can't find a room at the discounted rate, should reach out directly.

4) Software transitions: ZEV moves off GTS

Ry Armstrong, the new executive director of ZEV Co-op (operating in Seattle and Spokane, and expanding soon into Portland, Hawaii, and upstate New York), shared that ZEV is moving away from its current software toward a new, white-labeled platform being built with four to five B2B partners, with the goal of putting multiple operators on the same network. The new system integrates with ZEV's existing Invers hardware and introduces automated onboarding: identity verification through Jumio and background checks through Checkr, cutting processing time from around five business days down to roughly 15–30 minutes. Another operator noted their own software runs its own Checkr integration for automated verification, though it remains US-only for now. A third member, running GTS across part of their fleet, offered a comparison to a past platform and found GTS comparatively limited on feature development and application processing. The group agreed any technology change is a significant undertaking, but one worth weighing carefully against the operational gains.

5) Fleet and city news

One member announced a beta launch of a new program in South Central Los Angeles, starting with six vehicles and scaling to 24. The program builds on the earlier Blue LA initiative and is funded through CARB, operating in partnership with a community-based organization. Another member shared news of a grand opening for carshare service at a new condo-for-purchase building built without on-site parking, with two dedicated vehicles and two accessible spaces. The launch drew attendance from the mayor's office and the local utility, with full service expected by August 10th.

6) Raising the industry's profile

The group discussed how to raise carsharing's visibility, from better search and map presence to closer ties with allied networks. The Parking Reform Network came up as a valuable connection, with recent engagement already opening up new contacts and reconnections for at least one operator. The Executive Director noted that a similar workshop is likely to be repeated at the conference, giving more members a chance to build that relationship directly.