The Montreal Transit Corp. is reaching out to bus and metro users with a plan in which the purchase of 12 months worth of transit passes would translate into a discount on membership in a car-sharing network, the Gazette (Montreal) reports.

Communauto, which offers car rentals as short-term as 30 minutes, is the MTC's partner in the scheme, which has already been undertaken with transit authorities in Quebec City, Laval, Gatineau and Sherbrooke.

The program calls for commuters to sign a contract with Communauto, undertaking to purchase MTC monthly passes for a year. The user pays an additional $60 that allows them access to Communauto's province-wide fleet of more than 700 cars while exempting them from the network's $535 membership fee.

According to the Gazette, the contract calls for users to allow Communauto to debit their bank account for the cost of each monthly pass along with a monthly $5 fee, thereby making sure the transit passes are purchased. The network then mails the transit pass to the customer.

Users still must pay an hourly and distance rate for their car rental, which can run to $1.55 an hour.