CARPLUS NEWS

Spring 2008

New Evidence for Environmental Benefits

Carplus has just published the first report of the national annual car club members survey. This is the first time that research from all the accredited operators has been coordinated and combined into one report to provide the most robust UK data to date. Results show that:

Fewer cars

One car club car takes at least 5 -11 private cars off the road
Car club cars emit only 63% CO₂ compared to those they replace

Car club members compared to the average person (National Travel Survey):

use cars for a third of the number of trips of non-members (22.8% journeys vs 65.4%)
walk and cycle almost twice as much as non-members (45.4% journeys vs 25.8%)
use public transport three times more than non-members (31.8% journeys vs 8.7%)
save 0.7 tonnes CO₂ per year due to reduced car usage of more efficient vehicles

After joining further changes in their behaviour occur:

Car club members reduce their mileage by 53.6%
Members make between 13.2% - 15.2% more trips on foot and bike

Customer satisfaction

93% of respondents rated the car club services as good or very good

Click here for a full report.

If you would like to be involved in the discussion about how the survey is improved for 2008 contact us.

www.carclubs.org.uk
Where's my nearest car?

Carplus has launched a new website designed especially to help members of the public find their local car clubs. The site gives car club information in a nutshell – the how, the why, and the where. Typing in a postcode brings up a list of the nearest car club cars, with both map and written directions, and links to the car club websites to make joining as easy as possible. There is also a cost calculator. Why not put a link to it from your website?

www.carclubs.org.uk

Carplus news

Using Cars to Cut Carbon – Results from Yorkshire and Humber
A new starter guide to setting up a car club is now available, based on experience from the Cars Cutting Carbon Project over the past 3 years. It has quick reference sections on how, when and where to start your own car club and also contains information on the outcomes of the project along with useful statistics and checklists. If you have colleagues or contacts who would be interested do pass us their name and address and we post a copy. Multiple copies are available on request if you have members or mailing lists.

Transport for London supports Car Clubs
£500,000 of funding has just been allocated to London boroughs to set up and expand car club services in their area. Part of this funding will be used to support Carplus initiatives including:

The public website www.carclubs.org.uk
The continuation of the themed information seminars and discussion group - The Forum
The Interchange Project looking at the potential for placing bays at rail stations

Carplus will also be supporting TfL and the boroughs with the rollout of the new generic marketing materials for car clubs. These materials are now available to download from www.carplus.org.uk/carplus/logo_marketing.htm

Car Club Parking Charter
Working closely with representatives from Local Authorities and car club operators, Carplus has created a Parking Charter. The purpose of the document is to aid the successful development of car clubs by sharing agree best practice to smooth the implementation and management of parking bays.

The Charter specifically aims to:

Reduce inefficiency and administration time lost through dealing with issues like illegal parking
Increase customer satisfaction through improved reliability and reduced incidences of parking problems

To download the Charter, go to www.carplus.org.uk/Resources/carplus-resources.htm

Common Goals
In the major cities of England car clubs are beginning to flourish, but a void has been left in the rest of the country in places like Reading, Preston and Portsmouth. Carplus wants as many communities as possible to have the choice of access to a car by the hour over ownership. To enable this Carplus is supporting the set up of Commonwheels CIC, a social enterprise offering a different operational model to the existing operators.
Commonwheels adapts to fit the circumstances; working models range from offering support services to community schemes through to full car club operations. The community interest company even offers the option of using existing fleet or private cars fitted out with smart card technology to allow a lower cost set up. So each community could be kitted out with a “village car” to share with its neighbours and fellow members travelling to the area.

The first launch is in Reading with two cars.

www.commonwheels.org.uk

Car club news

Calderdale expansion
Hebden Bridge car club Hour Car has received grant funding from the Rural Transport Project to expand operations further along the Calder valley, to Mytholmroyd. A car will be parked at St Michael's Church, in the centre of the village. Hour Car's success bucks the trend for rural car clubs, many of which are struggling due to lack of funding. Club co-ordinator Kevin Hogan said, "I'm tremendously excited that we are moving into the neighbouring village of Mytholmroyd. This shows again that Car Clubs don't only work in big cities."
www.hourcar.org.uk

Picasso donation
Stroud Valleys Community Car Club is hailing the generosity of a Nailsworth couple who have donated their own car to the local community. Marilyn and John Miles have donated their Citroen Xsara Picasso to Stroud Valleys Community Car Club, a rapidly growing non-profit membership car club based in Stroud. The car will remain in Nailsworth and is already being used by several local residents, who hire it at a mere £2.60 per hour. Project Manager Mark Treacher said, "We have also received excellent assistance from District Councillor Dorcas Binns. In particular Nailsworth Town Council has backed us to the hilt and given us £200 towards publicising the car. When it comes to car clubs, Nailsworth, and Stroud District in general, are ahead of the curve”.
www.svcc.co.uk

Belfast business
This month sees the launch of Northern Ireland’s first car club, as WhizzGo opens for business in Belfast. Last year, Carplus worked with TravelWise Northern Ireland to survey residents and businesses, which showed a need for a club in the city. WhizzGo has also recently placed new vehicles in Winchester and St Albans, as well as expanding its fleet with ‘park and ride’ locations at Leeds and York railway stations.
www.whizzgo.co.uk

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