Reviews of Communauto (Rent Cars)

Jrod macolicious

Finally this area is now coming up with nice new construction and look a black bunny roaming the streets..lol.not far from the new crossing over Donald st to sandy hill

Alex Killby

VRTUCAR makes it very easy to live in Ottawa and not own a car. I find that this car sharing services excels with customer support, fleet availability, and ease of use on the booking website (and mobile booking website). VRTUCAR helps me meet the gap between public transit, and cycling. I mainly use cars for emergency trips, picking up large items, or getting to those destinations around Ottawa that aren't serviced by public transit. Very highly recommended, and membership is a breeze! If you don't need a car for your daily commute, save thousands a year by shedding car ownership in place of their service!

Elias Ibrahim

I've been using their service for months now and love it! I was initially concerned that i would not be able to reserve a car when i really needed it but it has not been an issue as they have a good car selection downtown. Great business, packages+prices and customer service. DO EEEEEEET! :)

Pamela Hicks

If you live downtown, a Vrtucar membership is a must! I have the most expensive pay-as-you-drive, no deposit membership, and it still costs me a fraction of what I was paying to own and park a car downtown. Plus now I don’t have to maintain a vehicle or feel guilty about owning one.

K R

Works well until it suddenly doesn't. One payment defaulted because I forgot to update my expired credit card. I am emailed that I have been auto-banned from making new bookings. Yikes ok. Should be simple to resolve. I update my credit card info but can't process another payment. Nowhere on the website or the (frustrating) app can I manually make a payment to unlock my account. I phone customer service and am told they can "make a request" and get back to me... Why can't they process a payment live? Either online, through the app, or over the phone? I can't book any cars until this is resolved and they themselves admit it may take hours or days to resolve. I just don't understand what's going on.

Stacy DuBois

I used to give this company a five-star rating but now I am changing it because when I cancelled my service they randomly threw a $339 charge onto my account completely without my authorization. I gave them two weeks to sort this out before the amount was to be pulled from my pre-authorized credit card and despite repeatedly reaching out about it they failed to sort out their business. It's been a nightmare trying to get my money back from them. Originally they told me they would write a refund cheque at the end of NEXT month (so over a month and a half away). Next I called them and had to fight to get them to agree to writing a cheque immediately. They promised to send it right away and also call me back to confirm they'd done so but it's been almost a week now and they have yet to do anything. Terrible customer service and I have no idea what their accountant's problem but taking nearly two months to refund hundreds of dollars worth of false unauthorized charges is ridiculous.

Amir Hutchinson

I tried to reapply with them after not using the device for some time. And when I submitted a new application and paid fees for the car history, they denied me the use of the service. I never had an issue with them before when I used communauto. How is it that I canceled my membership because I wasn’t using the service this year as much I dis last year, then two months later when I needed and had to reapply they denied me. Thats the reason for 1 star. That’s straight up rude and unfair. But that’s life. I don’t need their service anymore. There’s other car share services that are still out there.

Zoe Ackah

Greatest thing since sliced bread! I moved downtown, got rid of my car and save about $7000 a year just using the Communauto cars in my neighbourhood. Every once in a while there are not enough cars, and every once in a while the cars are dirty or smell like weed, BUT I am so relaxed because I don't have the yoke of car ownership around my neck AND I am saving so much money - I don't even get parking tickets anymore because you can park all over the place for free. Communauto is the way and the light people!

Hadrian Rex

Horrible customer service. Very disrespectful.

Michael Jones

Used Vrtucar for many years, sometimes daily and sometimes monthly. They treat their customers very well even at the end of my membership, providing records for car insurance purposes and promptly refunding my deposit and answering communication. Its rare to interact with a company with so much integrity these days.

Alysia Myette

Been using this service for 3 years and it just has gotten so much worse than it was when I first joined. Cars are very infrequently cleaned- even during this pandemic- find lots of garbage in them and sometimes the same garbage after weeks have passed if we end up with the same car. Technical issues often. Never any cars available if it rains or is a weekend day. Anytime you encounter a technical issue on their end that results in you being overcharged they do nothing to resolve it. Or worse- say they will give you money or credit, and don’t. Been disappointed quite a few times. I don’t usually write back reviews, but was Unsure how to make them understand they need to do better.

Hilary Lawson

i have been with vrtucar for two years now and they are AMAZING!!! extremely affordable (especially if you go with the presto plan), super convenient with locations all around the city and their customer service is top notch. 10/10 thank u vrtucar!!!!

Miguel Arias

Service is really good. Already a year with’em and have not complain. Cleaning maintenance need to be improved but with messy riders all the time it’s hard.

Dean Visser

Vrtucar takes a long time to repair the cars if you call them and if you report a problem they just write it down it's a good company they just need to maintain there cars

Chris Modjeska (Kins)

Has gone completely downhill in the last few years. Car maintenance has been ignored, and the pool has shrunk as ridership has increased. Every week a car disappears from my map.

minime4808

Long time member.. .it is top notch in service, availability and variety of vehicles. I need it to spread to my new address in Kanata????

sara jinha

The best way to drive!

Mark Dobson

Great local car sharing company. Been using Vrtucar for a few months and it’s been a convenient way to have access to a car when needed but not being tied down to the ongoing car ownership costs. Using a service like this means no more car payments, insurance, gas and maintenance costs. Only pay a monthly membership fee and time and Kms. Recommend booking in advance if possible, especially for weekends and summer months when cars at most stations are in peak demand. Friendly customer service and there are some newer cars spread throughout the city. Vehicle choices depending on location range from Corolla, Yaris, Prius, RAV4, Volt and cargo vans.

Meghan Boudreau

My experience with VRTUCAR has been above and beyond my expectations. I was frantically searching for a car rental after my ZipCar fob never came in the mail (DO NOT GO WITH THEM) and Sondra at the Ottawa location gave me incredible customer service. I would highly recommend this company to any renter, especially those who are under 25 since all car rental companies in Ontario require that you show proof of liability auto insurance (if we had cars, why would we be renting?) Anyways, thank you VRTUCAR, you're a life saver!

Natalija Rajic

If you live downtown Ottawa and are intetested in a car share, this is the place.

Harry Veeramani

Excellent customer service. Lisa at Vrtucar went out of her way in assisting us with our membership. Keep up the nice work! Vrtucar is a very convenient car sharing service around Ottawa. Highly recommend it.

R Steve

Highly recommended!! Easy to get hold of customer service agent and always get my issues solved at first call! Will be a loyal customer I believe!

Philippe Poulin

Good until you try to close your account. Poor customer service akin to goodlife fitness. Impossible to remove a pre-authorized payment method, can't cancel immediately, they require the fob mailed back or it is a $20 fee, this for an rfid tag that costs next to nothing. Already paying over $20/month before trips and they can't build in this cost? Increased the fees when Community CarShare was bought out. Not the same company anymore. Charged me for three months after I tried to cancel because the fob took time to arrive at their Ottawa office. Come on, this is how you lose customers and I will never refer someone now. Very disappointed. Now I'm wondering how many people just keep getting charged and don't notice?

Matthew Willis

The service is simple to use, rates are reasonable, cars are plentiful and easy to reach (in the Beechwood/Vanier area, at least), and the customer service is exceptional. I have always been able to reach a live body, no matter the hour, and the person on the other end is unfailingly courteous and helpful.

Aleisha Arnusch

Service has gone seriously downhill in last few years. Dirty cars, unsafely maintained, rude new branch manager, and lack of transparency in fees. Very disappointing.

M CC

I have been a member since 2016 and the service has definitely gone downhill in the last year or two. Cars are old and run down, when they are broken or make noise and you call to get it fixed, it can take months until they repair it. The other day I booked a car and noticed the driver’s door was dented and when I started driving and turning the wheel it was making a horribly loud noise and just didn’t feel right. After 45 min of driving and stopping and checking what was making the noise, I decided I didn’t feel comfortable driving on the highway with this car. Called them to report the issue and say that I’d return the car and appreciate not getting charged. They told me there’s a service call in for the car but that it’s been deemed “safe to drive” and so they will have to charge me for entire reservation even if I don’t use it. I asked if a mechanic had seen the car and they said their team deemed it safe to drive… that’s not acceptable to me, if I’m going to be driving a car at 110 km/h on the highway with my 9 year old with me, it better be fixed and safe. Telling me that you deem it safe does not prove that it’s safe if it’s clear it needs fixing and a service call has been put in to fix it. Not only that, but the car (like many in the past year) was filthy, pet hair all over the passenger seat and what looked like dripping sticky pop residue all over the car door on the inside (I sent them pics). So now I just paid for a dented car that I never used, that makes so much noise it’s embarrassing to drive, and is disgusting inside…. This is a service that we pay for, yet this company acts as if they are doing us a favor by letting us use their beat up cars. It’s such a shame, 2016-2019 was excellent, I didn’t call once to complain. Now unfortunately I’m looking into to buying a car. To those who mentioned on here that they are being charged for months after canceling their membership, you should call the Better Business Bureau to file a complaint. I won’t hesitate to call if I keep having issues.

nati vt

I have been using VRTU car since more than a year now. It is a great option for us who don´t own a car. Prices are very convenient, cars are in good shape, insurance and gas are included. I have used VRTU for everything: everyday trips within the city, travelling to USA, and long-term reservations for vacations. Client service is amazing: they are always available, no matter the day or time of the day. They have helped me with any doubt or issue I have ever had. It is great to have the option of using this enviromental-friendly car sharing system (+ cars are hybrid or electric). I only wished they had more cars, to ensure availability; but if you book in advance, you always find one.

Radney JC

I originally subscribed to Communauto for the social mandate, the fact it’s an ecological way to still access a car and yet not buying one, to simply use it as needed, and all. It’s been one of my worst financial decisions. The company has a chaotic billing system. The bills are exorbitant and the calculation is confusing. My bills come twice to me every month and every time I contact the customer service support, they admit to me they don’t understand why this happens and the problem is never addressed. After a couple of months I have stopped using their services because I figured I might as well just get a car!!! I have stopped using the service completely in July but 4 months later I am still getting charged. Tried contacting customer services, no success. Tried going to their office, it was empty and no response for 1-hr. Tried e-mailing, no response too…. Really disappointed by the experience and really don’t subscribe really!!!!

K P S

I've been part of Community Car Share / Vrtu Car / Communauto for 4-5 years (maybe more, I've lost track of the time to be honest) and I've loved being part of this car share community. My only regret is that I didn't join sooner! I live in the core so I can walk or LRT to most places but I love the option of having one of the cars. Very economical. I have access to 4 vehicles in under a 5 minute walk. They're detailed once a month. In between, they are kept as clean as the people who use them. If the gas falls to 1/4 tank or less then fill it up with the Communauto card. Easy! The local office has always been great to work with. Fantastic set up!

Dani Wannous

I've been using Vrtu for more than a year now and so far I've been impressed with the service. It's easy to use and the staff are very friendly. There is good car coverage in the downtown area. One thing I'd wish for is if cars don't have to be returned to the same spot to allow for 1 way trips. Overall very impressed.