Making Car Sharing and Car Clubs Work - Case ... - The Civil Service
Making Car Sharing and Car Clubs Work - Case ... - The Civil Service
Making Car Sharing and Car Clubs Work - Case ... - The Civil Service
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MAKING CAR SHARING AND CAR CLUBS WORKCASE STUDY SUMMARIESbased at Sowton Business Park. As a result of the increase in the use of a variety ofalternatives to single occupancy car commuting, but mainly in car sharing, the number ofcars used each day is only around 400, across a 24 working period. EDF Energy car sharersaverage 4 days a week sharing.Successes / Failures4.12 Key successes:Thorough consultation with staff <strong>and</strong> unions in advance of the launch of the scheme,clearly linked to deployment of information relating to office relocation.Recognition that car sharing was as appropriate, <strong>and</strong> attractive, commuting option forthe location <strong>and</strong> employee profiles.Very good ongoing relationship with the local authorities (Exeter City Council <strong>and</strong>Devon County Council), who provide supporting measures, e.g. roadside advertising forcar sharing.4.13 Teething problems:Some ongoing disgruntlement among a small minority of solo drivers about theprovision of dedicated parking spaces for car sharers.<strong>The</strong> car share database has not proved entirely user-friendly. One user pointed outthat, after registering months ago, he has not received any further information; anothercommented that when he registered he was offered a match with someone living manymiles away (it may be that he was matched with someone potentially on his commutingroute, but the link wasn’t obvious to him).Supporting Measures / Alternative Approaches Considered4.14 <strong>The</strong> Met Office offers three incentives to encourage staff involvement in the car sharingscheme:Reserved parking spaces for car sharers located near the entrances to the building.<strong>The</strong>re are currently 133 car share spaces marked out, from a total of 770 (715 for staff,the remainder for visitors). This number will be increased to keep pace with dem<strong>and</strong>.Sharers are issued with a car share badge, which they display on their dashboard onthe days they share, which entitles them to use the reserved spaces. <strong>The</strong>re appears tobe little abuse of the scheme, except from a very small minority of solo car users, whoobject to the reserved parking system, <strong>and</strong> use the spaces themselves. Users generallyvalue the parking arrangements, specifically the fact that they are in a preferredlocation. However, as the car park currently typically has 120 unused spaces availableeach day, the imperative of having a reserved parking space for car sharers as aguarantee they will find somewhere to leave their car is somewhat diminished.A guaranteed alternative ride home in an emergency.Final V1.1, Dec. 2004 - 26 -