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

MAKING CAR SHARING AND CAR CLUBS WORKCASE STUDY SUMMARIESA logo that reflects the local area and terrain (the ‘M’ in Moorcar has been stylised tolook like the peaks of Dartmoor).Moorcar branding on all club vehicles.Press releases to mark significant developments in the life of the car club.A car cost calculator to demonstrate the real cost of car ownership, and financialbenefit of car club membership for many drivers. ‘Owning a modest family car can costbetween £1,500 and £3,000 per year.’ (From the Moorcar website.)Financial Performance / Targets19.15 The £12,000 SEED grant and £45,000 Countryside Agency funding paid for a part-time (18hours per week) project coordinator, Jeremy Farr, for two years, as well as thelease/purchase of vehicles, and project start-up and marketing costs. In addition, Moorcarhas fairly recently secured £13,450 from the Dartmoor Sustainability Fund, which has beenused to expand the scheme into Buckfastleigh.19.16 One target associated with the grant applications was to achieve 30 Moorcar members byMarch 2004. This was not met, although the membership figure has recently (July 2004)crept up to 30.Research and Development19.17 The Exeter University research fellow who carried out the feasibility study has continued tobe involved in the project as lay auditor, and providing ad hoc advice to the co-operativesteering group – at much-reduced consultancy fee rates. He has, for example, developed amanagement plan to simplify record keeping, and to provide accurate data to base decisionson pricing structures.Support/Consultation19.18 Run as a co-operative, Moorcar members have a good deal of say in how the projectevolves. In practice, however, they often leave this to the employed coordinator. Membersare invited to a project development meeting every couple of months, “which is designed tobe more of an informal chat than a stuffy meeting”, and tends to be held in an appealingvenue, such as a pub or cafe. As the project coordinators post is only funded for two years –indeed the funding period is almost expired – Jeremy Farr has been trying to encourage themembers of the co-operative to take ownership of, and responsibility for, Moorcar to ensureit continues when/if he steps down as a paid employee.User Perceptions19.19 The following thoughts are a representative sample of those expressed by Moorcarmembers:Final V1.1, Dec. 2004 - 113 -