We take a look at pay-as-you-go rental schemes. Could they save you money? Could you live without your car?
What's the big idea?
In recent years we've seen the rise of commercial car clubs: companies offering cars for hire on an hourly basis, booked as and when you need to use them. These companies have thousands of cars throughout the country ready to drive away from convenient city-centre and suburban locations.
There are several operators (the big four are City Car Club, Streetcar, WhizzGo and Zipcar), but the basic idea is much the same: you pay a yearly membership charge and then go online (or make a phone call) to book a car when you need it. You then walk to the car, swipe your membership card over the windscreen to unlock it, and drive away.
The price varies from provider to provider but is typically in the region of £4-£6 per hour (including fuel). Between them the four majors cover Bath, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Guildford, Huddersfield, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Oxford, Sheffield, Southampton, St. Albans and York, with other cities to follow.
Internationally Zipcar (which started in Boston, MA, as far back as 1999) has cars in over 50 US cities and more than 100 university campuses. In Europe, GreenWheels is dominant in the Netherlands and Germany, but the country with the most car-sharers per capita is Switzerland, where the first clubs emerged in 1987.
Arguments for
Frugal. Unless you drive for a living, or drive to and from work, the yearly cost of using a pay-as-you-go car is a fraction of what you'd spend on car ownership. You don't have to worry about the cost of monthly repayments, depreciation, insurance, fuel (up to a daily mileage cap), road tax or residents' parking permits. If you live in London, some of the providers also factor in the cost of the Congestion Charge.
Fun. You get to try out a number of different vehicles and aren't tied-down to driving the same car day in, day out. Between them, the car clubs operate family hatchbacks, hybrids (Toyota Prius, Honda Insight), frugal diesels (Vauxhall Corsa Eco, VW Golf Bluemotion) and even Mini Coopers.
Green. For each pay-as-you-go car there are typically 30 car club members. If each of these members replace an existing car with car club membership this takes 29 cars off the road. The fewer cars there are on the road, the less carbon is expended in the production of new cars. In congested city centres this could lead to fewer parked cars which would lead to less driving around hunting for spaces (and the wasted fuel and unnecessary emissions this creates).
Convenience. Because many car clubs have locations in different cities somebody from Manchester, for instance, can use a car when they visit Birmingham or Edinburgh.
Arguments against
Availability. You can't guarantee that there will be a car available in a location convenient to you. Of course you can book far in advance, but you can't always drive away whenever the fancy takes you. Inevitably pay-as-you-go cars are more popular at the weekends, making spontaneous day trips less likely.
Ownership. There's a social status to car ownership that isn't always trumped by the satisfaction of doing one's bit for the environment. Some of the companies insist on plastering their cars with logos, making it impossible to pretend that you're driving your own wheels.
Other users. Although there are contractual penalties for breaking the rules, it's not uncommon to find the car you have booked hasn't arrived back yet, or that the interior is littered, or the fuel tank close to empty (car club members are expected to fill up the cars when necessary, using the pre-payment card in the glove compartment).
Pets. Quite understandably, most car clubs forbid the carrying of pets. But this can be hard on environmentally-minded dog walkers.
Longer journeys. Car clubs only really make sense for short, urban journeys. If you want to book a car for an entire weekend, or need to drive from city to city, then traditional rental cars are more cost-effective.
Related links
Smart idea? Have your say...
Would you ditch your own car if there was a car club vehicle parked on your street? Or could you not bear to share? Let us know your thoughts on pay-as-you-go cars.
More motoring schemes and ideas
"Could you live without your car?"... I don't have a car and I live just fine.. Anyone can live without a car there's more transportation then just having an automobile..
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Wow something else to become another mismanaged fiasco. The public will be expected to pay for the scheme to get off the ground and when the Tories get in it will be handed over to their Private enterprise buddies with a massive backhander of public cash and any losses of profit incurred will again have public cash injected. If it does get off the ground be prepared for the hourly hire rate to rocket in a few short months when people have abandoned their vehicles and become dependent on this proposed scheme.
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I live in a very rural area, on a farm in fact. There are no buses, and to walk, even to the nearest village, is not really an option. This scheme would only work in a city environment. I applaud the idea, but it is of no use to me, or other country dwellers.
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Good idea if you only need a car "now and then" and won't be too put out if you can't get one in time for an appointment etc. However, I work in the community in rural Wales and average 90 miles per day sometimes less, don't think it would work out for me or my family as I am always a taxi when I get home for my two daughters. Good idea for those city slickers etc, but not for me.
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WE INVENTED THE CAR FOR PERSONAL OWNERSHIP AND USE - I WILL ALWAYS FIGHT FOR THIS RIGHT - I WILL NOT GIVE UP MY CAR FOR ANY REASON. GLOBAL WARMING IS THE WORLDS EVOLUTIONARY CYCLE AND WE WILL ADAPT - ITS ONLY THE STUCK IN THE MUDS THAT WANT THE WORLD TO STOP. HOW DO THEY KNOW THAT A POST GLOBAL WARMING ERA WOULD BE WORSE THAT WHAT WE HAVE AT THE MOMENT. BE ADVENTUROUS AS OUR FOREFATHERS AND EMBRACE THE FUTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
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What a rubbish idea, no-one cares
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Whoever researched this article has not thought that you still require to be insured on any car you drive! Or is that pay-as-you-go too?!! I cannot see how anyone can rent a car now and then unless they usually use public transport anyway. and 4 to 6 quid an hour is aklot when you consider hiring a vehicle for a week...24 hrs x 7 days=168 hours at £6p/hr=£1008 per week plus fuel and insurance!!! Do the maths!!!
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Having your own car is convenient, and gives you freedom. These schemes are good for certain people who have certain needs; unless the companies provide a much higher level of convenience the take-up on this will plateu out. And to provide that convenience, they would need to have far more car pick-up/drop-off points all over the place, plus plenty of cars so that their supply outweighs the demand.
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i think its a good idea but in my case, i am a care worker so i might get called into work at any moment, and i cant guarantee that a car will be available, i can see the sense in this idea but sorry its not for me.
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Interesting idea...
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