Making Car Sharing and Car Clubs Work - Case ... - The Civil Service

MAKING CAR SHARING AND CAR CLUBS WORKCASE STUDY SUMMARIES18.32 Charging rates are as follows:Individual annual membership fee (including sole traders) £90Household membership fee (2 adults/joint membership) £90Community Group membership fee £90Business (for profit) £200One-off registration (fee per driver) £25Hourly rate (all vehicles, discounter daily and weekend rates apply) £2Mileage charge (includes fuel)12p-15p per mile18.33 The Club operates an easy payment arrangement for Kirklees Priority Passport holders, forhouseholds on low income.18.34 The Club is now able to cover the leasing and running costs of the cars and the external ITsupport from Drive-IT and Smart Moves. It cannot cover the salary costs for the Coordinator.The initial target was to become sustainable by March 2005 and to expand the Club intoother areas. There has been interest in having a car club in Holmfirth and Meltham, but sofar the necessary investment to get it going has not been available.18.35 The Club has exceeded the utilisation targets set by the feasibility study, but has not quitemet the membership targets. At present there are a number of potential members who areabout to sign up.18.36 The Club is hoping to put all payments onto Direct Debit. It is also wanting the Drive-ITbilling information to be improved and for the time-lag between the end of a month and thearrival of the billing information to be improved. It is understood that the operator, SmartMoves, is as unhappy about these problems as the Club, and intends to significantlyupgrade the billing system over the next few months.Research and development18.37 The funding for a car club feasibility study was applied for by the Colne Valley Trust, andsupported by their development worker. This study was undertaken by HuddersfieldUniversity with the support of CarPlus. The study team ran public meetings and interviewedresidents at local rail stations and in local villages, taking contact details from interestedresidents. The contacts made during this process provided a contacts database for theCoordinator, who started work six weeks before the planned launch of the Club.Support and consultation18.38 The Club has received in-kind marketing support from Kirklees Council, training and peer-topeernetworking support from CarPlus, and management support from Penistone LinePartnership. On the ground, members have provided assistance with the marketing effort,Final V1.1, Dec. 2004 - 103 -