Edinburgh City Car Club
www.citycarclub.co.uk
Edinburgh City Car Club, operated by the City Car Club organisation, began with support from the City of Edinburgh Council. It offers an alternative to traditional car ownership through pay-as-you-drive car hire. By 2008 it had a fleet of 69 cars - forecast to increase to 100 by the end of 2008 - and around 2000 members.
Members have local access to a car when they need one and only pay for the time it is in use and the miles driven. Cars can be booked by the hour for less than £5 by both residents and businesses. Bookings can be made directly from a car at a moment's notice, on the internet or by telephone. All vehicles are serviced and maintained by City Car Club.
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 on to the onboard computer. Journeys made are itemised on a monthly statement. City Car Club is much cheaper than owning a car because members do not have to pay for depreciation, insurance, maintenance or parking permits. Petrol is included in the bill as well (the first 50 miles on any day are free) and there is a card in the car if refuelling is necessary.
The City of Edinburgh Council is the largest user of the car club, with 330 staff as members using part of the fleet as pool cars during the working day. The Council assists with on-street parking bays. Some planning consents for new developments are granted conditional on funding of car club parking spaces.
The City Car Club provides a hassle-free alternative to traditional car ownership. The savings across a year are substantial and 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, car tax and parking. A City Car Club car doing the same mileage will cost just £1,200.
Car club use is good for the environment as well. Each City Car replaces seven privately owned cars on average and generally car club members cut down on unnecessary car journeys by 35 per cent after they join. Car Club use saves 2000 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year, the equivalent of 530 flights to Australia.
City Car Club started operating in 2000 in Bristol. By 2008, with a total fleet of 250 cars, it ran car clubs in Edinburgh, Bristol, London, Brighton, Bath, Poole, Camberley, Norwich and Portsmouth. Local authorities, hospitals and large and small businesses use City Car Club cars as pool cars.