Car clubs

What are car clubs?

Car clubs are a new way to use a vehicle without owning it. No more need to worry about servicing or maintenance, no need to pay for insurance or tax, all this will be dealt with by the car club operator.

The council is keen to support on-street car club operations. Car clubs provide vehicles to hire on a short-term basis and allow people who do not own a vehicle to use one at their convenience, for example for purchasing bulky or heavy items that would be difficult to carry on public transport. Car Clubs provide residents and businesses with the option to make more sustainable transport choices.

There are currently two main models of car club scheme – the "Fixed Point" model and the "Free-Floating" model.

The Fixed Point model has been in place in Tower Hamlets for approximately ten years. Each car has its own designated bay and has to be returned to that bay by the end of the hire period.

More recently, a number of companies have introduced the Free-Floating model, where a vehicle does not require a specific bay as it can be picked up and dropped off in any bay permitted by a participating local authority. This means that a vehicle can be picked up in Tower Hamlets, driven to another participating borough (or somewhere else in Tower Hamlets) and parked in a valid bay there at the end of the hire period.

The Fixed Point Model

How does it work

  • book a car via telephone or by internet
  • use your smart card to get in, pick up the car from a local car club parking bay
  • return car to the allocated car club bay once you have finished
  • monthly bills for easy payment

How much does it cost and what does it include

You only pay for what you use. Each company has a different cost but they are usually less than £5 an hour. The cost includes:

  • petrol
  • insurance
  • tax
  • maintenance
  • cleaning

These car club companies operate in Tower Hamlets:

Where's my nearest?

Find your nearest car club.

The Free-Floating Model

How does it work?

  • book a car via telephone or by internet
  • pick up the nearest car and use your smart card to get in
  • when finished, leave the car in any valid bay in a participating authority area
  • monthly bills for easy payment.

How much does it cost and what does it include?

You only pay for what you use. Each company has a different cost but they are usually less than £5 an hour. The cost includes:

  • petrol
  • insurance
  • tax
  • maintenance
  • cleaning

These car club companies operate Free-Floating vehicles in Tower Hamlets:

 

 Reasons to join

One car club vehicle can replace between five and ten private. This represents a huge benefit to the environment, air quality carbon footprint, congestion and parking.  With fewer cars on the roads, as people share the cars, it means fewer cars competing for parking spaces in a local street.

People who use car clubs tend to make smarter choices about their travel patterns, by using the car only when it is needed. The reduction in trips helps reduce congestion and pollution. The car club vehicles are new so they have modern and improved safety features. Therefore, they are less likely to breakdown or fail on the driver.

The car club vehicles have specially dedicated bays in easy to access locations making parking very easy.