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Car
clubs result in a reduction in car miles driven, with members walking or
cycling more, using public transport more often or simply re-arranging how they
make journeys and travelling less. Belonging to a car club makes it easier for
residents to meet their transport needs without running their own car, or in
some cases without owning a second car. This means people are free to choose the
best option for each journey. Research in the UK
and overseas has found significant changes in travel behaviour once the link
between car use and car ownership is broken. Car club members typically drive
less and make more use of public transport, cycling and walking.
Drive
less.
Members use
cars for a third of the number of trips of non-members (22.8% journeys vs
65.4%), and
members reduce their mileage by 50% once they start using a club.
Carplus
national car club member survey cf NTS Survey, 2008
In
the
Environmental Change Institute,
The
MOSES
report 2005 showed car mileage reductions of 28% (
It
is estimated that there will be I million users of car clubs by 2015.
Carplus
Helen (age 29)
Helen who runs Leeds-based telemarketing company J2Profit, and lives in the city centre said: “I decided to get rid of my car because I was hardly using it; once a week to go to the supermarket and once at the weekend. I use WhizzGo cars now to visit clients, to go to the supermarket and days out in the countryside. I know it saves me a lot of money and I have started to walk to places more and use my bicycle. I think if you asked me if I wanted to get a car in the future I would look at green issues more. I feel better for being environmentally friendly.”
Car
club users typically give up owning a first or second car on joining; others
defer purchasing one due to using the car club instead. The result being that
each car club car typically replaces 10 private cars. [Carplus national
car club member survey, 2008]
It
is estimated that there could be 1.5 million fewer cars on the road if car clubs
are developed to their full potential.
Carplus, 2008
Car
club users typically give up owning a first or second car on joining; others
defer purchasing one due to using the car club instead. The result being that
each car club car typically replaces 6 private cars.
72%
of
CityCarClub, Nov 2005
Each Streetcar car club vehicle replaces at least 6 private vehicles on the
streets of
Streetcar, September 2005
It
is estimated that by 2010 there will be 300,000 fewer cars on the road as a
result of car club development.
Carplus, 2005
30%
of City CarShare households in
Car
club cars replace 4-5 private cars in
Narrow
terrace streets and city apartment blocks cannot sustain increased car ownership
patterns seen in low density residential estates. Car clubs enable parking
ratios to be tightened, controlled parking zones to be effective and residential
parking schemes to be more popular.
Berkley Homes were
granted permission for a 300 unit car free development in
A
shift to newer, more carbon efficient and better maintained cars of car club
fleets means that car club vehicles are normally more carbon efficient than the
average private car. People joining car clubs often give up a polluting ’old
banger’, thereby further reducing emissions.
Car club cars emit only 63% CO2 compared to those they replace
Carplus national car club member survey, 2008
Combining
less miles driven in a more efficient car creates savings
of 0.7 tonnes CO2 per member per year in the
[Carplus,
2008]
City CarShare (
University of
The
MOSES
report 2005 calculates that members reduce their CO2 emissions by 40% in
Reducing car miles driven in turn reduces exhaust emissions. The impacts of exhaust on air quality and health are summarised in the box below.
|
Impacts
on health.
|
|
| NOx | Acid rain, water quality issues, exacerbates asthma |
| Hydrocarbons + NO2 = Ozone |
Eye
irritation, coughing, wheezing |
| CO | Reduces oxygen flow; impairs mental function & visual perception |
| Particulates | Exacerbates heart & lung conditions |
| SO2 | Acidic; exacerbates asthma |
Air
pollution from particulate matter is linked to 8,100 premature deaths
annually.
Health
Development Agency
Taking cars off the road will similarly reduce the number of accidents and deaths on the roads.
In
2003 3,508 people were killed on
Department for Transport
Tackling
inactivity and obesityThese problems are strongly linked to car dependency.
Car clubs and car sharing help break the car habit and so contribute to more
active lifestyles.
National
Travel Survey
Noisy busy roads littered with cars
divide communities and foster social exclusion. Car clubs allow
neighbourhoods to function with fewer parking spaces, which enable
initiatives such as City Living (high density urban lifestyle with
convenient access to facilities and mobility), Car Free Housing and Home
Zones (a street designed primarily to meet the interests of pedestrians and
cyclists rather than motorists, opening up the street for social use) to
succeed. Giving space back to people from the car improves social cohesion
and makes for vibrant communities.
Sustrans
This is about marginalisation from employment,
income, social networks such as family, neighbourhood and community,
decision making and from an adequate quality of life. For example, a person living in a neighbourhood
with poor public transport links, if unable to afford a private car, may be
excluded from seeking or continuing employment due to a lack of mobility.
This and similar situations trap people into a cycle of poverty from which
they and their families are unable to escape Car
clubs and car sharing can help tackle social exclusion by providing access
to a vehicle without the expense of ownership
Case study
The City-Wheels car club in Swansea
is the first car club in the UK to specifically serve social housing residents, 30% of whom are
disabled, retired or not working. It was set up by Swansea Housing
Association in February 2001 to meet the needs of their City
Living tenants – a project to encourage people to move back into
the city centre. Several years on the club continues to expand and
now boasts six vehicles, including an electric Smart car.
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