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

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MAKING CAR SHARING AND CAR CLUBS WORKCASE STUDY SUMMARIES19 MOORCARGeneral Background19.1 Moorcar is a not-for-profit community car share scheme, run by a co-operative calledAshburton Co-operative Transport Ltd, the first rural-based car share scheme in the UK. Itwas conceived during spring 2001 by a local environmental consultant, Gerard Cooper. Hehad first-hand exposure to the transport challenges facing people living in this rural area withlimited public transport. Many families are not affluent, and cannot afford to run more thanone car. Gerard encouraged a number of local residents and community figures to form aco-operative, which secured funding from the Shell Better Britain Campaign to commission afeasibility study into a car club for Ashburton. This was carried out by a research fellow fromExeter University, whose broad conclusions were: “I’m not sure that this is going to work, butit’s worth having a go”. On the strength of this, the co-operative went on to secure £45,000Countryside Agency funding, and a £12,000 SEED grant to establish the car club. Thefunding applications focussed primarily on increasing accessibility to disadvantaged groups,but at the same time on reducing overall car use by a target 10%.Operating Structure19.2 Membership is open to anyone, although the location of the cars (two in Ashburton, one inBuckfastleigh, and one in Totnes) means that it is most accessible to people living in andaround those three communities. Publicity material states that Moorcar is particularlyrelevant to those who:Currently own a car, but would prefer not toHave a second (or third!) car and would like to be able to sell one of themOccasionally need access to a car for private or business use, but do not need to ownoneHave a small car, but occasionally would like to access a larger vehicle.19.3 Individuals who wish to join the car club pay an annual membership fee, and a £50returnable deposit. For a period of about 18 months after the launch of the scheme inOctober 2002 the annual fee was at a promotional introductory rate of £10, but has recentlyrisen to £150. Additional eligible family/household members can join for an annual fee of £50each. Individuals can also join Moorcar for a trial three-month period, at a cost of £12.50 permonth.19.4 Scheme members book vehicles over the internet – using their membership ID andpassword – or by phone during office hours. The part-time co-ordinator will check vehicleavailability and book the vehicle for an enquirer. Those new to the system are given aninduction session by the co-ordinator (currently Jeremy Farr). Members are given securitycodes that enable them to access the car key safes (wall-mounted boxes) in the vicinity ofdesignated car club vehicle parking bays. A paper trip record sheet is kept in each car, intowhich users are asked to enter information such as their name, start and finish times,Final V1.1, Dec. 2004 - 108 -
MAKING CAR SHARING AND CAR CLUBS WORKCASE STUDY SUMMARIESmileage, and any fuel paid for. The system is self-policing as the next member to use thevehicle will check that all details have been recorded properly.Dedicated parking bays for Moorcar vehicles in Buckfastleigh (photos courtesy of www. kasstzam.com)19.5 Vehicles are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There are two small and twolarge vehicles, to satisfy different users’ needs: a SEAT Arosa, a Vauxhall Corsa automatic(both small cars); and two seven-seaters, a Vauxhall Zafira and a VW Sharan. The web siteprovides photos and a brief description of each vehicle. The hire charge of any bookingdepends on the choice of vehicle. The Corsa and Arosa are charged at £1 for the first threehours, £1.50 for the next three hours rising to £2.00 for all subsequent hours of the booking.Or by the day for £20 from 7am to 7am the next day. The Zafira and Sharan are charged at£1.50 for the first three hours, £2.00 for the next three hours rising to £2.50 for allsubsequent hours of your booking. Or by the day for £25 from 7am to 7am the next day. Theminimum hire period is one hour and increments of 30 minutes thereafter. In addition to thehourly hire costs, drivers are charged for the mileage they do in Moorcar vehicles: thecharges are currently 20p per mile in the Zafira and Sharan, and 14p per mile in the Corsaand Arosa. Drivers are asked to refuel the vehicles as necessary, the cost of which isdeducted from their monthly Moorcar bill.19.6 There is a ‘low user’ membership category: the annual fee is reduced to £50; and hire ratesare £1 for the first three hours, thereafter £4.50 per hour.Final V1.1, Dec. 2004 - 109 -
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