February 2011 Streetcar Driving to a Sustainable Future

Driving to a Sustainable Future | Adam Lacey | February 2011 What is Streetcar? 2 Streetcar is a pay-as-you-go car club designed to provide members with access to cars and vans as quickly and conveniently as possible with the least amount of hassle. Launched in London in April 2004, Streetcar now operates in Oxford, Cambridge, Brighton, Southampton, Guildford, Maidstone, and more recently, Bristol, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Streetcar positions cars across high-density residential and business districts. Each Streetcar member receives a smart ‘streetcard’ which, in combination with a unique PIN/Membership number combination, allows them to book and pick up any one of the vehicles in the fleet 24/7, 365 days a year. Usage is charged in 30 minute units, at a typical rate of £5.95 per hour. Regardless of how long a member books a car for, a typical maximum charge of £59.50 applies per 24 hours. Included in this price are insurance and 30 miles of free fuel for any booking within a 24 hour period. For bookings over 72 hours, 200 miles of free fuel per calendar day is included.

Driving to a Sustainable Future | Adam Lacey | February 2011 Book online Identify your Streetcar Use your smartcard to unlock the door Check for damage Enter your PIN and take the keys Return the vehicle to it’s bay Using Streetcar 3

Driving to a Sustainable Future | Adam Lacey | February 2011 Who is it for? 4 Streetcar is for anybody who needs occasional use of a vehicle. If you commute to work via public transport, bike or walk then Streetcar could save you a significant amount of money. Whether you use us to go to the shops, visit friends or family, or take a long weekend, Streetcar is the answer to those stuck between needing the convenience of a car occasionally without all the hassle and cost associated with owning one. Streetcar for business. Instead of a costly fleet of pool cars businesses can take advantage of a readymade fleet of vehicles – saving both money and carbon by sharing vehicles.

Driving to a Sustainable Future | Adam Lacey | February Member Behaviour Data taken from Streetcar member survey December 2009

Green Credentials Driving to a Sustainable Future | Adam Lacey | February Our members use our cars far less than they would if they owned their own vehicle. We have found that members choose to drive a car 68% less after joining Streetcar than before (Streetcar member survey 2007). Every car club vehicle takes an average of 20 privately owned cars off the roads of the UK (Car Plus annual survey). We use new and fuel efficient vehicles in our fleet. Streetcar has saved 100,000 tonnes of CO 2 to date, and is aiming to prevent the emission of around 50,000 tonnes of CO 2 over the next two years.

Driving to a Sustainable Future | Adam Lacey | February 2011 Electric Vehicles 7 Electric vehicles and car clubs definitely have a future Manufacturers do not yet offer the right products to make electric vehicles viable for car clubs Advances in technology should correct this Combining the concept of electric vehicles with Car Clubs should create a wholly sustainable transport system

A Green, Car Sharing Future? Driving to a Sustainable Future | Adam Lacey | February 2011 Cambridge is a fantastic example of where Streetcar has been very successful with a smaller network of vehicles. – Difficult to drive around – A good public transport network – A high density of residential dwellings – Parking controls making private vehicle ownership difficult – It’s a University town, with a green ethos (cycling) – Cambridge generally has an ABC1 demographic Links with Universities are a crucial to the future growth of the concept. Links with local businesses ensure sustainable growth by increasing mid-week usage. 8

Conclusion Driving to a Sustainable Future | Adam Lacey | February 2011 Car clubs have grown rapidly in the last 6 years. Car clubs and public transport are mutually beneficial modes of transport. Car clubs have heavily contributed to reducing the number of private vehicles, and thus emissions in areas they operate. The future for car clubs is bright, but requires adequate support to ensure sustainable growth is secured. 9