Council Boosts Green Motoring With Huge Expansion of City Car Club
The City of Edinburgh Council has given the go-ahead for a massive expansion of
City Car Club.
The eco-friendly pay-as-you-go car scheme is set to launch eight new cars on
Friday 8th February, bringing the number of cars in Edinburgh to 68. All these
cars are available for use by Edinburgh residents and businesses for less than
£5-an-hour and are parked on the street in handy locations all around the city.
The Council is keen to expand the club because it fits in with their policy on
traffic and CO2 reduction. They were impressed that on average every City Car
replaces seven privately owned cars and club members reduce mileage by 35% after
joining, compared to car owners. On that basis the 68 strong fleet will save
around 468 Tonnes of CO2 a year, the equivalent of 120 flights to Australia.
Cllr Phil Wheeler, Transport Convener at the City of Edinburgh Council, said:
"We've seen a steady increase in the number of members to the City Car Club and
I'm delighted to say that staff within the Council are also using the service,
and on average our 283 members cover around 4500 miles each month in car club
vehicles.
And he added: "The scheme's growing popularity in Edinburgh and reflects the
council's determination to help enable a wider range of smarter travel choices
in our city."
In total there are six more bays to be added, two in central locations on Castle
Terrace, EH1 2DP and St Giles Street, EH1 1PT, and the others on George Street,
EH2 3ET, Drumsheugh Gardens, EH3 7RN, Grove Street, EH3 8AA, and Craighall Road,
EH6 4ND.
Bookings can be made directly from the cars at a moments notice, or on the
internet at www.citycarclub.co.uk or over the telephone on 0845 330 1234. Cars
are parked in designated parking bays and once booked, members gain access with
their smart enabled, personal membership card (totally keyless access). Their
PIN is entered onto the onboard computer and then just drive away. Journeys made
are itemised on a monthly statement.
City Car Club also saves motorists hundreds of pounds because members don't have
to pay for depreciation, insurance, maintenance or parking permits. Members
don't have to pay for petrol either - there is a card in the car if you ever
need to fill up.
According to RAC figures a motorist driving 4,000 miles a year in a Ford Mondeo
would pay around £2,400 in insurance, petrol, maintenance, depreciation, road
tax and parking. A City Car doing the same mileage will cost just £1,200.
Joining the club is very simple and normally takes 48 hours. Lifetime membership
costs £75, but if you are not happy with the service during the first three
months there is a £50 refund available (we haven't had anyone ask for a refund
yet though).
CITY CAR CLUB CASE STUDIES
David Leslie, 61, from Edinburgh, is a self employed IT consultant and has two
grown up children. He has been a City Car Club member for 15 months. David says
he has saved approximately £1000 in a year when he sold his car and switched to
the car club.
David said: "The savings I have made are significantly more than I calculated. I
had worked on mileage remaining more or less at the same level but hadn't made
allowance that I am now often able to use alternative means of travel, and defer
or combine trips. There have only been very occasional inconveniences with not
having a car at my front door but when I think about it, these have been more
than compensated for by elimination of hassle with arranging insurance,
servicing & repairs etc."
Alister Hamilton, 47-year-old electronics lecturer at the University of
Edinburgh, joined City Car Club in 2001 having never owned a car before.
Alister said, "As parents of three growing boys we were finding it difficult to
ferry the kids about to parties and sporting events without a car. If it hadn't
been for the City Car Club we would have had little option but to buy a car
years ago.
"We've been using the City Car Club for over six years now and must have saved a
small fortune compared to the cost of owning and running a car over the same
period.
"I cannot honestly see us ever purchasing a car while City Car Club offer such
an excellent service."
For more information please contact Sean O'Brien @ AOB Communications
[email protected]
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