University Heights, Buffalo, NY

Saturday, August 28, 2010

"UB dropped the ball when it dropped Buffalo CarShare"

Buffalo Rising Story: Canisius Supports its own... and UB's own.


It's funny how things turn out sometimes. In a world where it is increasingly the right thing to do by supporting homegrown projects and businesses, University at Buffalo dropped the ball when it dropped Buffalo CarShare (BCS). It was a crushing blow to the company, not because CarShare was dependent on UB, but because it would have been such a natural relationship and source of growth. After all, CarShare was incubated at the university. Instead of tucking its tail between its legs, CarShare went out in search for partners that would understand the importance of 'buying into local". It didn't take long to earn the trust of Canisius College, which has agreed to bring CarShare onboard as its car sharing business of choice.

To think that another local higher education institution would bring a University at Buffalo castoff under its wing is... well, it's really something. Canisius could have taken UB's lead and gone with a national. Instead, it decided to go with a homegrown business, run by a young team made up of mostly UB alumns. Interestingly, Todd Salansky, board member of both CarShare and Buffalo First was one of the first to share the good news and was, "Extremely happy that my alma mater has chosen to support Buffalo CarShare for their car sharing needs. BCS provides students access to a car to shop and explore what our area has to offer. In addition to their first car on campus, they also have access to 10 other vehicles across the city. I think this is a great win for Buffalo!"

Canisius has already expressed an interest in a second car as demand increases, which both parties assume will happen after school starts.

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