Latest News
Wombat Car Club to Launch in Ipswich
Wombat Car Club is currently working with University Campus Suffolk, Ipswich Borough Council and Suffolk County Council to establish five cars in Ipswich for the beginning of April 2010.
Carplus Gets a Makeover
Carplus are excited to announce the launch of our new logo and the first phase of the new Carplus website - www.carplus.org.uk ! The new Carplus site reflects the existing car club branding. We hope the changes will ensure visitors find the site easy and enjoyable to use.
Walk Your Way to Mince Pie Heaven
Living Streets today launched the Mince Pie Calculator. This fun, seasonal tool is an excellent, light-hearted way to promote walking and build team spirit during the festive period.
Lord Adonis Crowns 100,000th Car Club Member
Transport Secretary, Andrew Adonis, has announced the 100,000th car club member, showing the rapid growth of the UK's car club industry.
City Car Club launches in Bradford
The University of Bradford and Bradford College have teamed up with City Car Club to launch 3 cars on campus. As part of the university’s ‘Ecoversity’ programme, the addition of a car club will work alongside other sustainable transport initiatives, enabling students save money and reduce their carbon emissions.
Stop Climate Chaos launch online mexican wave
The Stop Climate Chaos Coalition are building a massive online Mexican wave to show support for The Wave – the UK’s biggest ever climate march taking place in London on 5th December 2009. Just make a video of your mexican wave and upload it to the website to show your support for the march and of course to encourage others to get on board!
Carplus signs up to 10:10 campaign
Carplus has pledged to cut it’s emissions by 10% by 2010 as part of the nationwide 10:10 campaign.
Zipcar Reveal Benefits of a Low-Car-Diet
Zipcar have announced the results of the 2009 Low-Car Diet, in which more than 250 people around the globe gave up their car for a month, from July 15 - August 15, 2009. After this year's annual program, 100 participants noted that they planned to stay car-free, compared to 83 who made that same commitment after last year's Low-Car Diet.
Car Club Network Expands
2,173 car club vehicles are now available in over 40 locations!
WhizzGo merges with City Car Club
On 28th August 2009 WhizzGo Merged with City Car Club to form a network of 500 pay as you go vehicles in 15 locations across the UK. The new larger club will operate in the City Car Club branding from Edinburgh to Bristol and York to Liverpool. Exisiting members will be contacted shortly to explain how the changes will work.
Car Club Network Expands
2,086 car club vehicles are now available in over 40 locations!
Boost for Pay-As-You-Go Car Club Scheme
Tower Hamlets Council has this week launched 160 new on-street Car Club parking bays across the borough, as part of an effort to cut down on local car use and to make the borough ‘greener’.
The First Carfree Neighbourhoods in London
Imagine how life would improve if cars were removed from parts of the city, where people could live free from traffic, where children could play round their homes in fresher cleaner air. Would you like to live in such a neighbourhood, or even help to design it?
Car Club Network Expands
1,992 car club vehicles are now available in over 40 locations!
Westminster Welcomes Low-Emissions Fleet
All-electric and petrol/electric hybrids are now available from £29 per day thanks to a joint venture between Zipcar car club and Westminster City Council.Decongesting Britain
New data reaffirms car clubs' role in cutting cars on UK roads
Car club members in the UK play a key role in reducing congestion, parking problems and carbon emissions according to a report published by TRL (Transport Research Laboratory) this week.
Review of the Car Club Year
Westminster Council House recently played host to the latest in a series of Forums led by Carplus, and supported by Transport for London (TfL).
A smarter way to travel in Richmond upon Thames
Transport for London (TfL) and the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames have joined forces to launch Smarter Travel Richmond, a three year, £4.2million initiative to help people change the way they travel in the borough.
£1m package to enable more Londoners to access car clubs
Transport for London (TfL) yesterday announced a £1m investment package to support the growth of car clubs across London over the next two years, to bring around a third of London residents within just a five minute walk of a car club vehicle.
Event: The Forum 7
On Tuesday 21st April, Carplus will host The Review of the Car Club Year.
This event, which is supported by Transport for London, will be looking over car club achievements from the past year as well as exploring exciting innovations for the future.
Why a Widget will Save Drivers Money this Christmas
A new widget, which calculates the cost of driving, has been made available to help drivers find out how much money they could save by joining a car club.
50,000 swap their four wheels for greater savings
Membership of car clubs in the UK has more than doubled in just one year according to research compiled by transport charity, Carplus. Latest figures show that there are now over 50,000 people using 1500 car club cars to get them from A to B. The majority of members are based in London where 70 per cent of the cash and carbon-saving cars are currently located.
Change Your World
Sustrans, the sustainable transport charity campaigning for a better cycling and walking environment, is launching a new venture to encourage people to change the world one journey at a time.
The Change Your World campaign will run from 30th June to 5th July, and is asking people to pledge to change just one journey during the first week of July - instead of driving, take the bus, walk or get on your bike.
The campaign demonstrates how, in combination, small individual changes in travel behaviour really do add up and make a big difference, resulting in less congestion, less pollution and less C02 emissions and if you choose to walk or cycle instead, improved health and quality of life.
Visit the website at www.changeyourworld.org.uk and see how you can make a difference.
TfL Pushes Car Club Growth
Transport for London has announced funding for 2008/9, to support the growth and development of car clubs across the capital.
Boroughs receiving support to convert on-street parking bays to car club only bays, for the first time, include Barking & Dagenham, Croydon, Hillingon, Lewisham, Waltham Forest and Westminster. This will mean more cars, in more accessible places. Sutton and Richmond-upon-Thames are both due to receive financial support as part of the Sustainable Towns initiative.
So wherever you are in London, you can expect that in the not-too-distant future, there will be a car club vehicle waiting for you just around the corner!
New Survey Results
Research just released reveals that Londoners generally underestimate how much they are forking out on maintaining their motors every year. Motorists questioned estimate that they spend an average of £1,617 on car maintenance every year whereas the latest RAC figures suggest running a car can cost around £5000 a year.
Despite the fact that London’s car owners are investing thousands keeping their cars on the road:
- Over half of them spend less than three and a half hours driving a week
- And similarly more than half quote difficulty in finding a parking space as a reason for not wanting to own a car.
The research also reveals that it’s not just cost but carbon that is a frustration for the capital’s motorists. Findings show that 43 per cent of car owners are frustrated about the environmental damage their car may cause. With evidence showing that a car club car replaces up to 20 private cars on the road in London, the opportunity to minimise their carbon footprint is seen as a major attraction of car clubs for the capital’s motorists.
A Sign of the Times
Car clubs have a new logo. To make it easier to find where cars are parked on the streets the designated bays will be given a makeover with the logo added to special parking signs across London and the UK. Wherever you see this logo you know you will be able to pick up a vehicle for your trip.
