Cooperative Car Schemes

There is one form of motoring that is not only kind to the environment and drivers’ wallets, but the Government also encourages it. It is the cooperative car scheme - a type of club with a ‘pay as you drive’ approach.

Several ‘green’-minded people from the same neighbourhood share the right to drive a modestly sized vehicle, which is kept at a nearby on-street location called a ‘car station’. They book their turns - for as little as an hour or as much as several days - online or by phone. When collecting the vehicle, they unlock the door by running a smartcard through a reader on the windscreen.

The car is equipped with an onboard computer into which the driver enters a personal identification number. The vehicle then keeps track of the time and distance it is driven, and the driver is charged accordingly.

One shared car replaces six privately owned ones, according to research, which has suggested that people are less inclined to drive when taking turns with a vehicle. This has the effect of significantly reducing pollution from exhaust emissions, as well as cutting traffic and demand for parking spaces.

The Government is so keen on the concept that it is urging local authorities to include provision for car clubs in their local transport plans, making the schemes an integral part of planning policies. Property companies in several big cities are beginning to include car clubs in some of their residential developments – and are being encouraged to do so by environmentally conscious councils.

About 1,000 people joined a car club in 2004. To register, you pay a membership fee and a returnable deposit to cover any damage to the vehicle. Every time you drive the car you pay a user-rate of roughly £4 per hour. Some club members claim to save up to £3,000 a year on car maintenance, road tax and insurance.

Car clubs began in Switzerland after World War I and then spread across mainland Europe and to the USA. There are a number of operators of cooperative schemes in the UK, the most prominent being Smart Moves (http://www.smartmoves.co.uk), WhizzGo (http://www.whizzgo.co.uk) and Streetcar (http://www.mystreetcar.co.uk).

But they run car clubs in only a limited number of places, usually large, heavily populated urban areas, which is the one significant disadvantage of such cooperatives. However, many organisations have plans to extend their reach and the number of vehicles available, and share schemes are expected to be running in about 150 towns and cities by 2010.