An increasing number of private and public sector fleets are joining car clubs as a “hassle-free” and “flexible” alternative to pool car schemes.

Overall car club membership has risen significantly, with 64,000 members in December 2008 compared to 32,000 a year earlier.

Carplus, a national charity which supports the development of a national network of car clubs, commissioned the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) to carry out an annual survey of car clubs.

Its report revealed success in its carbon-cutting agenda with 39% of respondents saying they had reduced the number of cars they ran as a result of becoming a car club member.

City Car Club told Fleet News it had signed up hundreds of businesses of all sizes across its nationwide network.

Approximately 30% of its membership is currently corporate, with that expected to be nearer 40% by the end of 2009 and 50:50 by the end of next year.

“The main reason for businesses joining as corporate members is to save money with pay-as-you-go motoring rather than the fixed costs of owned or leased cars or the cost and hassles of grey fleet,” explained James Finlayson, chief executive of City Car Club.

Similarly, Streetcar has doubled its corporate membership to more than 1,100 businesses in the past six months and WhizzGo has seen a 55% increase in its corporate membership in the past year.

Meanwhile, Connect by Hertz reported interest from existing and new business users about its operations in London, Paris and New York.

“Many of them acknowledge the convenience associated with local cars and the technology particularly for shorter rentals,” explained Neil Cunningham, general manager of UK and European Strategic Projects.

 

Since 2007, Kent County Council has provided bays for Streetcars at their main site in Maidstone. The three low-emission cars have replaced the pool cars that the council leased previously and are available to 100 employees registered for business use, as well as all other Streetcar members. Graham Tanner, travel planning team leader at Kent County Council, said: “Streetcar provides a hassle-free and flexible alternative to a traditional pool car scheme, with good quality eco-friendly vehicles available on demand.”