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Recent research by the Countryside Agency (2000)
found that transport is the single most important concern of people
living in rural areas.
Traffic growth on rural roads is now greater
than in urban areas.
A number of studies have identified transport
as a major barrier to social inclusion in rural areas.
The Government's Rural White Paper (2000), in addressing these twin challenges of reducing social isolation and reducing car dependency, cites car clubs as a practical solution, with funding available through the Countryside Agency's Rural Transport and Parish Transport Grants.
“ A more potentially attractive measure I have yet to see. It
ought to one of our highest priorities”
(Peter Headicar, Reader in Transport Planning, Oxford Brookes
University talking about car clubs in solving rural transport
problems at Rural Transport Conference June 2001)
In 2004 Carplus completed a rural car club programme in partnership with Sustrans and the Countryside Agency, who funded the project. The programme set up 10 pilot projects in a wide cross-section of rural areas to learn whether they could be a success and collate best practice. Some were concentrated on one town, while others cover a number of smaller communities.
Cars can be booked for as little as an hour. They are usually located at designated parking bays within a ten-minute walk of where members live or work. This works well in urban neighbourhoods, and generally translates well to market towns. In less densely populated areas, community co-operation, creativity in how the club operates and existing informal networks provide solutions for members getting access to the cars.
Car clubs are more likely to be successful in areas where
there is a reasonably dense population to ensure a viable membership and easy access to cars
there are public transport links and some local amenities to ensure private car ownership is not essential.
However, other key factors are emerging that are important to the success of clubs in less obviously viable areas. There are many lessons which have been learnt which are summarised here and explained in more detail in the final project report.
The Moorcar club in Ashburton, Devon, launched in September 2002. By late 2006 the club had expanded to run seven cars serving four towns in the area. It operates like a conventional car club but on a smaller scale. Operated by a dedicated co-operative, it aims to supplement the limited public transport available. Alongside the car club, Moorcar also runs a ride share system.
Hourcar in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, was established in 2004 operating cars running on biodiesel. This innovative community co-operative is expanding along the Calder Valley serving several small towns. The club received funding to buy a 5th vehicle at the end of 2006. Hourcar also encourages ride sharing among its members.
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