 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Rusty car pool in Leicester is an excellent example of a club which runs older cars at a minimum cost. It is probably the longest running car club in the UK, evolving from a group of neighbours sharing one vehicle in 1976. As the number of participants grew, a more formal structure became necessary, and in 1990 the Rusty Car Pool was formed. The club relies on trust and a strong sense of community, with members willing to contribute on a voluntary basis to the organisational aspects and day-to-day running of the club.
Vehicles and
Insurance
The club currently runs 5 vehicles - a transit van, 2 hatchbacks and
three estate cars - and serves 2 businesses, 21 adults and 16 children.
This provides a mix of users and good vehicle utilisation with few
conflicts of needs. Generally vehicles are bought in at about 8
years old, and they are sold or scrapped 3 or 4 years later when
they become too money or time consuming to maintain; sometimes there
are newer cars in the fleet brought in by new members. The vehicles
are ‘kept’ at members’ houses across the city; costs of
delivering them to other members are payable by the club.
Insurance cover is only third party to keep costs down.. A good relationship with a local broker has been helpful in getting insurance for club vehicles.
Bookings
The car pool is totally
self-financing; a subscription rate covers road tax, insurance,
breakdown cover and repair and replacement of the vehicles, and a
mileage rate covers the cost of fuel.
Members record their trips in the vehicle logbook, with mileage recorded at the appropriate rates. Any expenses incurred, eg on fuel, and any damage, faults or problems with the vehicle are also recorded. Volunteers summarise the logbooks every month and send these on to the treasurer.
Bookings are made by phone: vehicles can be booked for daytime or evening use, as well as for longer periods such as holidays. However, bookings of a fortnight or longer have to be checked out with all members. Each member is supplied with a handbook giving guidelines on booking a car, vehicle pick-up and handover, and basic club etiquette.
Club operation
Core
to the running of the club is the regular members’ meeting, where
decisions are made on issues such as new members, replacement and
maintenance of vehicles and charges. Members must attend 1 out of 3
meetings to remain in membership, while new members are expected to
try to attend all car pool meetings during their 6 month trial
period.
The work involved in the running of the club is shared between the members, the two main roles being the bookings coordinator and the treasurer. Accounts are computerised, as is the cash flow chart and longer term financial planning. The ‘keeper’ of each vehicle does minor maintenance chores and arranges any approved repair work on the vehicle. Some roles, such as taking minutes, rotate between members.
Contact
 |
 |
|||
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
top