West Yorkshire Combined Authority has appointed City Car Club to run car clubs in Bradford, Calderdale and Wakefield after a competitive tender process.

City Car Club, which was recently acquired by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, already runs car clubs in the Leeds, Kirklees and York districts and has 3,000 members.

This expanded contract means around 100 City Car Club vehicles will now be available in conveniently located bays right across West Yorkshire and York.

Twenty of the 100 vehicles are expected to be hybrids while another five – one in Bradford, two in Leeds and two in York – will be electric vehicles.

Many of the vehicles will be located close to transport hubs, such as rail and bus stations, enabling people to use public transport and then complete their trip by car.

Annual MCard holders can use their transport smartcard to hire and access City Car Club vehicles for £1 (saving them £59) as well as for virtually unlimited bus and rail travel in West Yorkshire.

Annual membership of City Car Club, which is normally £60, is £1 in the first year for Annual MCard holders.

As well as private individuals who need a car for an hour or two, City Car Club members include employees at Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield and York councils and a wide range of local small and medium employers such as architects, lawyers and creative businesses, whose employees all need to drive occasionally for work.

Councillor Keith Wakefield, chair of West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s transport committee, said: “This expansion shows that the Combined Authority is committed to car sharing as a way of supporting local businesses and making affordable and sustainable transport options easily available to residents.

“We look forward to continuing our work with City Car Club to develop this cost-effective, environmentally-friendly and hassle-free alternative to car ownership that works so well alongside public transport. The Club is a way of supporting individuals and businesses who do not want to get into car ownership and the associated costs of insurance and maintenance etc. and which allows them to continue to use public transport or walking.”

Dan Gursel, City Car Club managing director, added: “West Yorkshire is certainly a trailblazer as the first combined authority to provide car club membership across its entire region, but we predict it won’t be the last. Car clubs allow people to get where they need to be even if they don’t own a car and/or the public transport links aren’t appropriate. They are very much a key feature of the future of road transport in urban areas.”

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