Taking the wheel to expand car clubs

27 May 2015 12:06 PM

A new action plan has been published encouraging residents and businesses across the capital to sign up to car club schemes as an alternative to car ownership.

The new Strategy for Car Clubs was jointly developed by TfL, London Councils, the GLA, plus a number of car club operators and partners.

It aims to build more awareness of clubs and increase their number for essential car journeys in the city. This will help tackle the challenges of future population growth, congestion and poor air quality.

London is already one of the leading car club cities in Europe. 85% of UK members are based in the capital and the plan aims to help reach a target of one million clubs in London by 2025.

Main actions include:

• Working with London boroughs to promote car clubs as a sustainable travel option for local residents and businesses
• Improving access to car clubs by expanding the use of technology and apps and making more information available through the TfL website
• Creating more parking and ensuring that car club bays are used as efficiently as possible
• Encouraging more low-emission vehicles, particularly electric vehicles, in car clubs to improve air quality and reduce noise
• Promoting car clubs to commercial and business fleets to help encourage more use of electric vehicles and reduce the burden of fleet management

Visit http://tfl.gov.uk/driving and look for the link for car clubs

Car facts

• RAC Foundation research has shown the average city car is only used for 4.6 hours a week - that means it is parked for 97% of the time
• Car clubs have on-street parking bays in 27 of the 33 London boroughs and many boroughs have incorporated them into their transport infrastructure