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

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MAKING CAR SHARING AND CAR CLUBS WORKCASE STUDY SUMMARIES20.21 A2B is involved in Countryside Agency funded research on rural car clubs. This is ademonstration project, being evaluated and assessed by Transport and Travel Research,which aims to draw good practice from existing schemes, and to ensure their future beyondthe life of the demonstration work.20.22 A2B networks with other car clubs, particularly rural ones in the south-west of England,sharing experience and good practice. Employing his marketing expertise, Grant Pearsonrecently prepared a discussion paper on ‘Locating and Marketing Rural Car Clubs andVehicles’. Among the topics covered this drew attention to the need for a different marketingstrategy for rural car clubs compared to urban ones. Car clubs respond to different problemsin rural areas: isolation, poor public transport, sustainability and environmental concerns,etc.Support / Consultation20.23 A2B uses the following means to consult and support its members:A needs assessment questionnaireAn e-newsletterA websiteInformal get-togethers (‘drinks and nibbles’) at the A2B office20.24 In addition, Grant Pearson (the car club manager) appears to be on good first-name termswith all existing – as well as many prospective – members. While the car hire system ismanaged remotely by Smart Moves, Grant is the friendly and accessible local face of theorganisation.User Perceptions20.25 The three A2B car club members interviewed are all generally very happy with the way thesystem operates, although they did have a couple of ideas for possible improvements (seebelow). Perhaps this is to be expected given it is a customer-centred service that peoplevoluntarily opt to buy into, rather than a system that individuals are coerced to join – likesome work-place car sharing schemes, for example. Below are a sample of users’ views.“Having to book and pay-as-you-go for vehicle hire, makes people really think about thecar journeys they make. Well, it does me.”“While I want this scheme to be successful and expand, I’m a bit worried about the effectsof more people joining on the availability of cars. At the moment, it’s almost guaranteedthat one of the A2B vehicles will be free when I need a car.”“Living near the town centre, with no off-street parking and limited on-street parking (withits attendant risks of vandalism), this scheme really works for me. Two of the A2B cars arewithin a five minute walk of my house. I’ve very much come to depend on it.”“I sometimes find it difficult to judge accurately the amount of time I need to hire a car for, Ioften find I’ve booked too much, or not enough, time”.Final V1.1, Dec. 2004 - 120 -
MAKING CAR SHARING AND CAR CLUBS WORKCASE STUDY SUMMARIES“I’d quite like to see a van as one of the pool vehicles, as a lot of the trips I hire for involvetransporting bulky items.”“The monthly statements of account are impenetrable. I can’t understand them at all.”“I’m not sure why we are charged the full booking fee it we cancel within six hours of thehire period. It seems a bit unfair as – certainly in Bradford on Avon with its low hire rate atthe moment – it’s unlikely we would have deterred or prevented anyone else from bookinga vehicle.”Other General Issues20.26 The individuals involved in the development of the A2B Car Club are clearly personally verycommitted to the project. This commitment appears to be born from a mix of a strongendorsement of sustainable transport, together with personal exposure (as local residents)to the adverse effects of too much traffic in an historic and attractive town.20.27 With a relatively small and slow-growing membership base, there are concerns about thelong-term viability of this project. However, ideas are constantly being explored to try andensure this, such as:Negotiations with Wessex Trains to sell ‘rail + car hire’ to west country holiday makersThe possibility of purchasing a ‘people carrier’, and hiring it to clubs, schools andsocieties in addition to individual car club membersNetworking with other, particularly rural, car clubs in the south-west to offer reciprocalhiring arrangements to individual clubs’ members.Final V1.1, Dec. 2004 - 121 -
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