Car Bute was one of the most distinctive car clubs in the UK.
Run on the Isle of Bute by a local environmental charity, it operated with just a couple of vehicles, relied on a simple keysafe rather than app-based access, and offered a hyper-local alternative to owning a car on an island where most journeys were short.
After more than a decade in operation, the club closed in 2023 when it was unable to secure insurance.
A Community Car Club For The Isle Of Bute
Car Bute launched around 2011 and was operated by Fyne Futures, a Rothesay-based social enterprise focused on environmental and community projects. The car club formed part of Fyne Futures’ wider work on sustainable transport, recycling, and energy efficiency, and sat alongside Bike Bute, the island’s e-bike hire scheme.
The club was created to give residents and regular visitors access to a car without the cost and commitment of owning one. Bute is a small island, and many people relied on walking, cycling and buses for day-to-day life, using a car only occasionally. Car Bute was designed with that pattern in mind: a communal resource that filled the gap when public transport couldn’t.
A Tiny Fleet With Old-School Access
Unlike the big city car clubs with dozens or hundreds of vehicles, Car Bute operated at a deliberately small scale. In its earlier years it had two cars available to members, positioned in Rothesay and managed directly by Fyne Futures.
The access system matched the club’s grassroots nature. Instead of unlocking the cars via an app or smartcard, members collected the keys from a keysafe at the pick-up point. It was a simple, low-tech system that suited the island and avoided the cost of installing automated telematics equipment. Bookings and billing were handled through a traditional back-office system rather than in-car technology.
That approach worked well for an island community where the same members regularly booked the same small pool of cars, and where the priority was reliability rather than sophisticated tech.
How The Club Fitted Into Life On Bute
Car Bute quickly became part of the island’s transport mix. The cars were used by residents who didn’t own a vehicle, by visitors who needed occasional mobility, and by people who wanted to avoid the cost of running a second household car. Membership numbers remained modest — just a few dozen at certain points — but that was entirely appropriate for a population of Bute’s size.
Fyne Futures integrated the club into local sustainability efforts, encouraging active travel for short trips and using the car club as the practical back-up option. The model was never about scale; it was about providing access where it mattered.
The Insurance Withdrawal And Closure
After operating for more than ten years, Car Bute was forced to close on 1 September 2023. The reason was straightforward: its insurer withdrew cover.
For years, many community car clubs around the UK had arranged insurance through the same cooperative framework. During a review of policies, the insurer determined that it could not continue offering cover where the club did not own the vehicles outright. As a result, Car Bute’s insurance was not renewed.
Without insurance, the cars could not operate, and Fyne Futures had no practical route to replace the policy. The closure was not driven by declining usage or lack of community interest — it was the direct outcome of an external insurance decision that affected a number of small, community-run car clubs across the country.
The end of the club was a blow for the island, leaving Bute without any car-hire or car-club option at all. But its legacy remains as an example of how car sharing can work at the most local level, even with a minimal fleet and very simple technology, when it is connected to the needs of the community it serves.