Car sharing clubs

I just missed this wave when it first hit a few years ago. Four companies have been started that allow people to pitch up to any of their cars to rent on the spot, for an hour or for a week.

People all over London are now ditching the cars and joining car clubs to save money and only rent a car when they need it. Members pay about $100 a year and then go online to see if the car near them is available when they need it.

One company, Streetcar, claims a regular user can save $4,000 a year by not paying insurance, road tax, repair bills and not paying for the gas for the first 30 miles.

With gas prices here in the UK now topping $10 a gallon, membership is soaring.

Nationally, membership rose 22 percent in the first quarter of the year to 45,000 drivers. Car companies are also now adding vans because companies are clambering for the quick rental to take employees on day trips.

We interviewed a guy who ditched his Jaguar and now just rents a car when he needs it. He does it for green reasons. Ironically he agrees with other members who say they actually use public transport more because they don’t want to pay an hourly rate to pop to a shop. So they pay to drive … less.

This has caught the eye of local governments. A number of them in London have marked out spots for these private companies to park their cars. They see it as a way to cut down on traffic. One study claims that for every car share automobile, 20 cars are taken off the road. Families seem willing to attempt this system instead of buying a second car.

What impressed me was how the companies have been created around technology which was not widespread and reliable even five years ago or so. You can book your car through a secure Web site after you look on an interactive map to see what cars are available.

You can also pitch up to a car and use your mobile phone to send a text and then receive a confirmation back on your phone. The car is then unlocked remotely.

Why it seems to be working for busy people is this: We all know we are going to drive. It’s not much use taking a bicycle to IKEA. So this is a way to save money and cut down on our carbon footprint.