Zipcars
I recently popped round to see Zipcar in their new headquarters near the Globe Theatre, in Southwark. I like to keep in touch with developments and Zipcar is not only one of the leading car club organisations in Britain, but the largest in the world.
The general understanding that you do not have to own a car to have all the benefits of using one is slowly dawning on people. I would say that if you do not drive to work and you live near a car club you would be wise to seriously consider taking up membership.
The technology that Zipcar employs means that you can book your car on-line for as little as an hour or for the whole week-end and away you go – fuel, insurance, breakdown cover, servicing all included. There is no hassle.
You do not even have to book in advance. You can be walking past a Zipcar, check on you mobile to see if it is free and off you go. What could be simpler?
I have been following car clubs since the early days when they were informal groups of people sharing a car between households. They would track mileage and service costs in a log book stored in the cubby hole. These groups are still there and growing in number but over recent years more formal organisations have grown and the service levels have improved enormously.
These new car clubs have names which try to convey the advantages of using the service: City Car Club, Cocars, Commonwheels, Morecar, Optioncar, Streetcar, Whizzgo, Zipcar. I have attended their annual conferences and have been a keynote speaker on a number of occasions. It is great to witness the enthusiasm amongst the movement, for car clubs have a vital role to play in reducing our impact on the environment. Car clubs can work in almost any locality – even the most rural areas have car clubs, but they do best where they have a high density of cars in an area and where people to not use their car to go to work. That is why London has so much coverage already and has most potential in the near future.
I look forward to when a car club reaches my neck of the woods.
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Comments
Car clubs in Colchester and Kesgrave, near Ipswich
You don't have to be in London to take advantage of a car club!
Wombat Car Club is active in Colchester and Kesgrave near Ipswich, with two cars in each - and it's spreading.
It's also two-way: people who don't use their cars very much can make them available for hire via Wombat.
See http://www.wombatcarclub.co.uk/ for more!
Wombats Too
Yes, I knew you were there - I felt I should not list all of you. I would fill my blog!! There are so many car clubs across Britain meeting the needs of locals in imaginative ways.
Car clubs
We'd have joined one like a shot years ago but we need our car for carrying bulky items, we drive longish distances to stay with family which is always at least a long weekend, usually more, AND we need to tow the caravan two or three times a year.
From what I've seen club cars can't be used for any of those things :-(
Someday Soon
The more cars become available the more variety of vehicles that can be provided. Longer cross country journeys can already be catered for, as you know. Some car clubs can provide larger vehicles for bulky items. Tow bars would come next. Caravaning holidays of more than four days might be beyond the car club sector you enter the rental sector. No mode of transport caters for everyone.