News
Carplus news
ACT TravelWise Spring Conference
University of Essex, Colchester
Friday, 30th March
This national conference will showcase ‘Transport in the 21st Century’, with presentations delivered from some of the UKs leading practitioners in the transport and technology field.
The conference provides the opportunity for delegates to explore two sides of the transport planning industry, firstly new technology and how it can be used to enhance the way we research and deliver transport projects and secondly, the application of successful sustainable transport projects.
Following on from the Developing Community Car Clubs in Scotland Conference being held a week earlier, Carplus will be presenting the session, ‘Can Car Clubs help to save our rural communities?’.
New Guidance on London Borough Parking Permits
A new Technical Note on London Borough Parking Permits is now available for Carplus members.
The note outlines recent survey results and a series of good practice recommendations for London Boroughs and Car Clubs operators.
View the full report. (Members only)
View the press release.
Car club opportunities revealed to IBM
Carplus CEO, Chas Ball, and Keith Stark of City Car Club discuss the role of car clubs in business and public transport with Caroline Taylor of IBM.
This interview was recorded live at Base Glasgow on November 23rd, 2011.
3rd Annual National “Sharing the Street” Conference
Join Jon Little of The Project Centre and Carplus’ Kate Gifford at the 3rd Annual National “Sharing the Street” Conference.
1st December 2011, London Transport Museum
The current financial pressure on budgets provides both a challenge and an opportunity to plan and deliver projects that have significant value at an affordable cost. This conference will assist practitioners in delivering such projects.
Jon Little and Kate Gifford will be joining forces to present Low car neighbourhoods and reclaiming residential streets – good practice from the UK and Europe.
The day will be chaired and facilitated by Professor Peter Jones, University College London and author of the publication “Link and Place” and the Conference fee includes complimenatry access to the London Transport Musuem at the end of the day’s proceedings.
For more information and to book, please contact Bini Kaur at bini.kaur@ptrc-training.co.uk or call 020 7348 1970.
Download Sharing The Street Leaflet (293.44 kb, Adobe Reader file)
New Trustees get on Board
Carplus is delighted to welcome three new members to the Carplus Board.
- Matthew Clark, Principal Consultant at Steer Davies Gleave, London
- Sally Herbert, Sustainable Travel Officer for Newcastle City Council
- Martin Higgitt, Associate Director, JMP Transport Consultants Ltd., Leeds.
These new members were elected during the Carplus AGM, which took place last Thursday alongside Travel 2020 at the Kia Oval.
They will join existing Board members:
Eric Manners, London Borough of Islington’s Team Leader for Transport Policy (Chair)
Alexandra Allen, Liveable Neighbourhoods Director, Sustrans (Secretary)
Anne Keen, Travel Plan Officer, Bristol Council (Treasurer)
Liz Gray, Senior Consultant, Future Transport Systems
Dr. Richard Carmichael, Research Associate, Business School, Imperial College London
Inaugural Award for Excellence in Carsharing goes to City of Sydney
Lord Mayor Clover Moore of the City of Sydney & CSA Executive Tanya Paz
At the annual CarSharing Association (CSA) conference in Montréal, Canada this month, the CSA announced a new award to be presented to a government authority ranked a leader in the development and implementation of carsharing support.
The inaugural award, the 2011 Award for Excellence in Carsharing has been awarded to the City of Sydney, Australia. (more…)
Europe’s largest trial of low carbon vehicles
The first analysis has been published of data collected from the Technology Strategy Board’s UK-wide demonstrator programme, involving 340 ultra-low carbon vehicles.
A range of vehicle types, including high performance cars and small city runabouts, were driven by real users making everyday journeys. The findings, collected from on-board computers and face-to-face surveys, reveal that participants in the trial met the challenges of switching to an ultra low carbon vehicle with ease, often getting completely used to the change after just one week. Participants were also impressed with the performance of their ultra low carbon vehicles, and 83 per cent of private drivers said the vehicles met their daily needs.
SCOTTRAN Conference – Aviemore
SCOTTRAN: Scotland’s Transport Future in a Changing World
27 – 29 September 2011
Macdonald Aviemore Highland Resort
This conference and exhibition by the International Association of Transport Professionals looks at all aspects of transport past, present and future and how it relates to the economy, finance and the changing world we live in.
LowCVP Low Carbon Champions Awards 2011
LowCVP Low Carbon Champions Awards 2011 – call for nominations
Nominations are now invited for the LowCVP’s second Low Carbon Champions Awards which will be presented at a gala reception to take place on November 14 at One Birdcage Walk, Westminster. The deadline for nominations for these prestigious Awards is Friday 30 September.
This year’s LowCVP Awards are being held in association with the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).
There are seven categories of Awards reflecting the diversity of those engaged in encouraging the shift to lower carbon vehicles and fuels. There are also two special awards. The LowCVP is seeking nominations for all except the final Award which will be presented to the best entry from all other categories.
The awards are for:
· Low Carbon Car / Van Manufacturer of the Year
· Low Carbon Heavy Duty Vehicle Manufacturer of the Year
· Low Carbon Vehicle Operator of the Year
· Low Carbon Fuel Supplier of the Year
· 2011 Award for Low Carbon Innovation by an SME
· Low Carbon Road Transport Initiative of the Year
· 2011 Outstanding Low Carbon Publication or Report
The special awards are:
· Outstanding Individual in Promoting Lower Carbon Transport
· Outstanding Achievement in Low Carbon Transport
For further information, please visit LowCVP/Low Carbon Champions Awards
Carplus to exhibit at the Low Carbon Expo 2011
Come and meet Chas Ball and Kate Gifford at the Low Carbon Expo!
The Low Carbon Expo 2011 will take place in Cardiff on September 16th and 17th. (Chas and Kate will be available all day Friday, and Saturday until 12.30).
Carplus will be one of over 100 organisations showcasing energy-saving products and services as well as offering education and advice, interactive workshops and live demonstrations. Register online for your free place.
Carplus will also be attending the Cenex Low Carbon Vehicle Event on 7th and 8th September at Rockingham Motor Speedway.
Please contact our head office on 0113 234 9299 if you would like to arrange a meeting with Chas Ball and Kate Gifford at either of these events.
Car Clubs news
Inaugural Award for Excellence in Carsharing goes to City of Sydney
Lord Mayor Clover Moore of the City of Sydney & CSA Executive Tanya Paz
At the annual CarSharing Association (CSA) conference in Montréal, Canada this month, the CSA announced a new award to be presented to a government authority ranked a leader in the development and implementation of carsharing support.
The inaugural award, the 2011 Award for Excellence in Carsharing has been awarded to the City of Sydney, Australia. (more…)
Carplus welcomes new Car Club Development Officer for Scotland
Carplus has appointed a new car club development officer for Scotland, Matthew Eastwood, who is based in Edinburgh. His role focuses on supporting the growth of car clubs established as part of the Transport Scotland funded Developing Car Clubs in Scotland Programme – particularly those now operating in market towns and rural communities. He is also co-ordinating Carplus’ support for the expansion of electric vehicles in the Scottish car club fleet.
(more…)
First Car Club in Swindon to Launch
GO! Co-operative Limited – trading as GOCO – a multi-stakeholder sustainable travel co-operative, is to launch the first car club in Swindon. The GOCO CAR car club has been developed in partnership with Hab Oakus, developer of ‘The Triangle’, a new high-quality sustainable 42-home development, one mile north of Swindon rail station.
(more…)
Car Clubs & Ride Sharing Set to Expand in 10 Transport Authorities
Successful bids from ten transport authorities were announced by the Department for Transport for the first phase of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF). Several of these bids envisage establishing car clubs in areas where they have not previously operated. Others, such as Southampton, West Yorkshire and Devon, are planning to expand existing networks.
“Developing the car club market in new locations is not always plain sailing, but Carplus is looking forward to drawing on its experience in London and Scotland to provide support and advice for the delivery of these bids,” said Kate Gifford, Strategy and Business Manager of Carplus, who congratulated all Transport Authorities that have been successful in securing funding.
Carplus is the national accreditation body for car clubs and works with partners Transport for London and Transport Scotland to develop car clubs in urban and rural locations.
Carplus is a partner in the successful LSTF bid for Shropshire and will help to provide technical support and project management for the implementation of car clubs in Shrewsbury and other market towns.
Shropshire’s bid also includes a package of measures to bring about changes in travel behaviour, to better manage traffic, and to encourage a greater use of more sustainable modes, such as walking cycling and public transport.
Greenwheels park up in London
The Dutch company Greenwheels will be joining Zipcar and City Car Club as part of the London Borough of Wandsworth’s new multi-operator car club network. It is the first time that Greenwheels, which has established operations in Germany and the Netherlands, has entered the UK market.
TfL provides £537,000 for further Car Club development
In recent years TfL has funded the London boroughs to support the development of a comprehensive on street parking infrastructure for car clubs.
TfL has awarded an allocation of further funding for this to continue. £537,000 has been allocated between 23 London boroughs in 2011/12, with a further £480,000 available to 24 boroughs in 2012/13.
Surrey County Council inviting tenders
Surrey County Council is currently inviting tenders to expand its Low Carbon Emissions Car Club Project. The key part of the contract is to oversee an expansion of vehicles in the County from a current number of 8 to 30 over two years.
The tender opportunity closes on the 18th of April. Please view the Surrey County Council website for further details.
Latest Developments in Scotland
June 2011
Car Sharing Clubs in the City
For 2011-12, funding and technical support will be available to assist the development of car clubs in the largest Scottish cities.
Over the winter, exploratory discussions took place with Aberdeen, Dundee and Glasgow city council officers about how we could assist the development of car clubs in these areas.
The funding programme is currently allocated to on street parking bays, and support for marketing and Electric Vehicles. Since April, Carplus has been working on a plan of action with all three cities.
In Glasgow we are keen to support the expansion of the scheme during the year, particularly in the south of the city. We have also met with other councils in the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) area to identify opportunities for expansion of the scheme beyond the city council boundary.
In Aberdeen, the council’s strategy to establish a new scheme later this year is dependent on a tender process, but we hope to see a start made to the programme by spring 2012. Carplus will be assisting with this process.
In Dundee, Carplus is in discussion with the council and will be assisting through the preparation of a draft Car Club Strategy.
Information on the DCCS programme for local authorities will be provided through meetings of the Regional Transport Partnerships. The first, in Glasgow with SPT, took place on 18 May.
Car Sharing Clubs in the Community
Carplus is working with about a dozen smaller communities across Scotland to develop car sharing clubs for local residents and businesses. Each of the projects is unique to that community and all are at different stages of development. The more developed schemes are described first, followed by those where awareness-raising, market assessment and local consultation has been the first priority.
1. Establishing New Car Sharing Clubs
2. Running Extended Trials
Both trials in the Isle of Bute and Mallaig are supported by car club operator Moorcar and are aimed at establishing more clearly the nature of the local market and its mobility needs.
3. Other Activity: Awareness Raising and Market Assessment
Carplus is working with a range of partners including development trusts, transition towns, sustainability projects and local authorities to assess the level of interest in potential schemes in the following locations where we have assisted with surveys, spoken at meetings and workshops and encouraged community activists:
- Comrie
Download leaflet - Cupar
Download leaflet - Forres
Download leaflet - Huntly
Download leaflet - Thurso
Download leaflet
A meetings will take place in Cupar on June 9th. Others have recently been held in Thurso and Forres.
New additions
We have most recently added Kirkwall (Orkney) – where we attended a meeting convened by Orkney Housing Association – and Lochwinnoch (Renfrewshire) – where we have produced a leaflet/survey with their Local Energy Action Plan.
- Lochwinnoch
View page
A car-sharing club for Anstruther?
As part of the Developing Car Clubs in Scotland programme, Carplus Trust, in partnership with a group of residents is carrying out a survey to find out what people in and around Anstruther think about having access to a local Car-sharing Club.
A car-sharing club for Cupar?
As part of the Developing Car Clubs in Scotland programme, Carplus Trust, in partnership with Fife Council, is carrying out a survey to find out what people in Cupar think about having access to a local car-sharing club.
Please complete the survey to register your interest.
(more…)
