Forum Topic

Car club

How is the take up of car clubs going, I wonder?I often notice the one in South street, Isleworth, as I park using the free (hard won by local Councillors) 30 mins to visit Mr Curd the chemist.  I don't notice them expanding around the area.With the idea of trying to reduce pollution around the area, are they electric?A development project (100 flats +) was using 'car club' as part of what they were offering with the development, but funnily enough, offering 'A' car club space gives a chance to introduce the term car club, with little meaning,Has anyone put a figure to how many car club spaces should go with these huge developments?  Maybe one car club space per 10 flats?  They certainly aren't offering enough spaces for people to park their own cars within the development so the extra cars will be parked on local roads.Have you used car club?  How does it work for you?  Are there enough pick up points?

Sarah Felstead ● 3302d8 Comments

Is the Car Club aware when you cannot find a free car near you?  Or do you give feedback?  It would help if they did and then they might see whether or not there was a need for another car space nearby.I think that many people may see them as a reason for not having a second car per household.  There are periods in your life when you need to travel more by car and periods when you don't.

Philippa Bond ● 3286d

Alex, I'm not sure how you can describe working out an accurate cost for owning a car as doing things "blindly".  Surely it is people who DON'T do this who are doing things blindly?Now once people have this cost, the next question is, is this cost worth it for "use it whenever you need" ?  For some people it will be but most people don't even know the overall costs so the question of how much they are prepared to pay for convenience isn't even considered.Your phrase of "can use it whenever you need" demonstrates what I said about people "drive because they have a car".  Once people have a car, they will tend to use it whether the journey needs a car or not and as most of the costs are already "sunk" and they don't consider the cost per journey or per hour of actual use.  If they did, a lot of people would be surprised and perhaps look at the alternatives. These alternatives do mean adjustments to lifestyle but having more money to spend on other things can mean adjustments to lifestyle as well!Less than half of households in London actually own a car and ownership rates have been dropping consistently, particularly with people in their 20s and 30s.  People in their 50s and 60s are looking like the "peak car" generation.

Michael Robinson ● 3293d

Michael, I've also been a member of street car and then - zip car. That's why I don't have to pay my annual membership.Indeed, if you blindly compare the cost of using a car club with owning a car - it appears to be much cheaper to go with car club. That's exactly the point car club promoters make. But if you are practical - the beauty of owning a car is that you can use it whenever you need. It's not the case with the car club as usually if you need car at a short notice there is none available near by.If you want a car for a weekend trip - it is cheaper to use traditional car rental.If you need a car for a few hours to do shopping - it is usually cheaper to get to the shop by public transport and then get a minicab for the return journey.I can admit that for some there may be cases where car club works... I just can't justify it for me and cannot think of a practical case where car club would have benefits over other arrangements.The cost benefit you've mentioned, which doesn't work for me for the reasons I've explained, seems more theoretical rather than practical.As for the short trips - the practical issues with using car club for this are:1. Lack of available cars at short notice2. Use of public transport (or cycling) in most cases is not inconvenient enough to beat the price difference compared to the car club.

Alex Shpinkov ● 3295d

New town centre developments are now routinely without any parking except blue badge and car club spaces - generally only one or two of the latter. Usually they are in CPZs and residents are not allowed CPZ permits so they cannot park a car unless they make private arrangements.I guess time will tell if demand for car club spaces means the current supply gets to be inadequate.

Guy Lambert ● 3295d

"Shame it is so expensive to use"I've been a Zipcar (previously Streetcar) member for many years and have saved a huge amount of money compared to owning a car.  This is money I can save or spend on things I enjoy!As an exercise, you could sit down and work out how much it actually costs to own a car - there are a number of websites that can help you with this.  So that will be things like fuel, MOT, car tax, insurance, servicing, residents parking and depreciation assuming you don't plan to run it into the ground.  Then divide this by the number of trips you expect to make per year and compare with the car club.The outcome will obviously depend on your lifestyle.  In my case, I commute using public transport or bike so my car was basically sitting there 5 or more days a week doing nothing except costing money.Zipcar is really for short trips and of course it depends how convenient the locations are and does need some planning ahead to reserve.  If you need a car for an entire day or weekend then hiring is likely cheaper and if it is an emergency, then get a taxi.  Again, you can calculate what this would cost based upon the number of times a year this may happen and I'd be surprised if it is more expensive than the annual cost of actually owning a car.There is also the psycological aspect.  With Zipcar you are paying by the hour so the costs are more directly associated with a trip while with owning, the costs are somewhat separate hence the exercise of working out exactly what ownership means when calculated per trip.I think a lot of people "drive because they own a car" and don't really think objectively about the alternatives.

Michael Robinson ● 3295d

Last time I used them they were just petrol - it was around 3 years ago. Here is the link to my car club - you'll probably be able to find the details:http://www.zipcar.co.uk

Alex Shpinkov ● 3295d

Thanks for the reply, Alex.I must say I do not think 'car club' when working out how to travel around the area.  I found a map on line showing spaces and there are a few nearer us that I didn't know were there but there are very few spaces.  Shame it is so expensive to use and that everyone can't take advantage of the special rates you mention.  Are the cars electric or hybrids?

Sarah Felstead ● 3295d

Sara, I've been a member of the car club for many years. The only reason I still am a member is that it is free for me if I (as an old-old member) don't actually use their cars.The main issues with car club I see:1. Usually you cannot get a car from your near by location when you need it. So it is no match to having your own car from the point of convenience.2. For any extended period it is more expensive than traditional car rental.3. For short journeys - like weekly trip to Tesco for example - it is not much cheaper (or may be even more expensive sometimes) than minicabs.Therefore car club may work for someone (may be for corporate clients with special rates and needs?), but not for me.

Alex Shpinkov ● 3302d