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Derry City and Strabane District Council trial low-emission car club

Enterprise Rent-A-Car is a global car rental company has been working towards sustainable development since 2013, focusing on advancement of alternative fuels and clean technologies. In recent years, Enterprise has established car clubs as an alternative to traditional car ownership models and now Derry City and Strabane District Council is availing of their low-emission car leasing scheme for essential staff travel within the district.

What is a car club?

Towns and cities face challenges like population growth, congestion and poor air quality. Car clubs can provide a cost-effective and flexible alternative to owning a car and can help tackle these challenges at the same time. Joining a car club provides the convenience of owning a car without the hassle or costs of repairs, servicing or parking. Members can book cars locally for just an hour, up to a whole weekend, or longer.

A commercial car club is a variation of the public car club model, whereby a business leases out a number of shared or ‘pooled’ cars from a car club provider for its staff to use for business travel during work. Through the provision of low-emission vehicles, Enterprise is helping businesses contribute towards reducing congestion and pollution by encouraging a sustainable and economical alternative to car ownership.

Derry City & Strabane District Council Car Club

Derry City and Strabane District Council is actively involved in a number of sustainability initiatives such as minimising waste, using less resources and reducing their carbon footprint. In its Sustainable Development & Energy Strategy, the Council identified an opportunity to implement a sustainable transport project which would inspire and influence the population to consider alternative low-carbon transport options to improve the environment and save on transport costs. Following on from this, the Council decided to work in partnership with Enterprise to run a car club pilot, launched in 2017. 

The pilot involved providing staff with access to 5 centrally pooled vehicles for business travel within work hours. The scheme was specifically aimed at staff who do a significant amount of travel for work and are classified as ‘essential car users’.

A total of 5 vehicles were leased to the council. 2 are full EV “Electric Vehicle” (Renault Zoe) and 3 are classified as Hybrid ULEV “Ultra-low Emission Vehicles” (Toyota Auris).

A dedicated reservation booking portal was set up so that staff could easily log in and view vehicle availability and book a car when needed. Staff ID badges were programmed to enable staff members to unlock their pre-booked vehicle and a concealed key within the car could be accessed once inside.  The scheme has been an unrivalled success and unlocked a myriad of benefits including improved mobility, cost savings for the council and environmental benefit.

Key findings from first 3-months are:

  • Over 100 registered users
  • Up to 395 trips and 6250 miles driven
  • Approximately 500 kgCO2 saved in or 2 tonnes CO2 per year
  • £4,043 saved in mileage expenses (equivalent to £16k - £20k per year)

The car club pilot in Derry City and Strabane District Council has been an overnight success. The Council has calculated that driving the vehicles 40 miles per day ensures the scheme pays for itself, in terms of recouping the leasing fees. Anyhing over 40 miles generates a net saving as the car club is cheaper than staff essential car allowances. An unforeseen benefit is that staff who can take public transport to work, but hadn’t previously because of a need to access their car for business travel, are now taking the train or bus to work knowing they can access one of the pool cars if needed during the day.

The Council is now considering how they can roll the pilot out, to encourage greater take up and shift staff and public perceptions about low-emission vehicles. 

More information on Enterprise car clubs: https://www.enterprisecarclub.co.uk/gb/en/programs/business.html

More information on the environmental benefits of electric and hybrid vehicles below: