Car clubs are set to receive a £500,000 boost to drive forward their work, Transport Minister Baroness Kramer has announced.
The minister announced that the Department for Transport will provide the funding to support two pilot programmes which will promote much wider access to car clubs.
Baroness Kramer said: "Car clubs cut congestion, reduce carbon and save people money while still giving people the freedom and flexibility to use a car when they want to. Interest in car clubs is already gathering pace and we want to give that interest added momentum.
"This funding will highlight their many advantages to even more people and help take car clubs up a gear."
The proportion of carless households has been growing across the country since 2005. At the same time, because people value the convenience that access to a car brings, interest in car clubs is growing, says the government.
There are already over 150,000 car club members in England and government is keen to support their growth.
They make much more efficient use of the limited space available on the road, with estimates suggesting that one rental car can take the place of 17 individually owned vehicles, the government added.
Car clubs can also help save drivers money - potentially thousands of pounds per year.
The Department for Transport is already funding 48 car club and car sharing schemes through its Local Sustainable Transport Fund.
As editor, Tim is responsible for the media content, planning and production of AM's multiple channels (AM print and digital magazines, website, social media and contributing to our events planning). He interviews and writes about as many franchised dealer groups and UK divisions of motor manufacturers as possible, to explore the issues facing UK motor retail and understand what solutions dealers and suppliers are using to overcome these.
Chris Poulsom - 29/07/2014 11:31
I have recently been to Berlin where this scheme is huge and all those I spoke to rave about it. I believe it is manufacturer driven (BMW and MINI).