Transport
Drivers club together for success
City Car Club - Now Cars Near You in Edinburgh provides a short-term, self-service car and van rental to members for periods from half an hour to several days, 24/7 days a week, without the need to go to a central rental location to pick up a vehicle. Vehicles are located across the city, close to member’s homes and places of work to provide maximum convenience. Employers and private individuals join City Car Club as a cost effective alternative to car ownership, to remove the hassle of owning a car and an effective way of reducing their carbon footprint.
The company won the 2015 VIBES Transport Award which recognises businesses that have reduced transport-related fuel consumption and consequent CO2 emissions. The award for the City Car Club is in recognition of the potential for this service to influence car usage, driving techniques and the collection of localised data to influence behavioural change in transport use. Dan Gursel, managing director of City Car Club, said: “We’re already seeing electric vehicles in Edinburgh and around the country, as well as business car clubs that are helping local authorities and companies to reduce their emissions and travel costs. Winning this award is vital recognition that we can make a real difference to communities and the environment."
There has been a shift over recent years by the company to replace traditional fuel cars with low/no emission Electric Vehicles. In line with City Car Clubs policy of innovating with the latest developments in vehicle technology, it introduced its first zero emitting fully electric vehicle in April 2014.
The introduction of Electric Vehicles to the fleet has seen significant economic savings for customers requiring vehicles particularly for shorter journeys. The cost per mile of both fuel (19p/mile) and electric vehicles (4p/mile) is cheaper than most corporate companies pay staff for the use of their own vehicle and so membership of the City Car Club is also expected to result in savings for corporate companies and larger organisations.
All staff has received training on eco-driving from the Energy Saving Trust (EST) and impart their knowledge freely, a credit card sized key facts card on eco-driving is located in each vehicle.
City Car Club works closely with public sector organisation and key partner organisations including Energy Saving Trust, Bike Station and Transport Scotland to enhance the service. They also have a strong partnership with City of Edinburgh Council. City Car Club have come to arrangements with a number of organisations to host their electric vehicles at their under-utilised charging infra-structure and are now operating 13 fully electric vehicles and 1 plug-in hybrid.
The City Car Club offers a model that could easily be replicated throughout Scotland too convert the way the nation thinks about travel, challenging the traditional model and offering a cost effective, environmentally friendly alternative pay as you go motoring.
Further Information
You can also search for good practice case studies on the European Resource Efficiency Knowledge Centre (EREK)