How to set up a car club

What is a car club?

A car club owns or leases one or more pool cars which its members can hire.

Members pay an annual fee, plus a rate per hour/mile when they hire a car. They can book the car and collect the keys from a key safe.

A car club gives members the flexibility of driving a car without the costs of ownership. The club covers the cost of insurance, tax, servicing and fuel from membership fees.

When is a car club suitable?

Car clubs are most successful when they have members from different areas of the community (retirees, one car families, low income groups). This helps to spread demand for vehicles (day times, school runs, evenings, weekends).

Benefits of membership

• Can be cheaper than owning a private car
• Useful for people who only need a car from time to time
• Ideal for people with a driving licence but no access to a car
• A viable alternative to buying a second car for one-car families

Membership qualifications

Most car clubs have a minimum age restriction and require members to have:

• a full driving licence (held for at least 12 months)
• no more than 6 penalty points on their licence
• a good driving history

These qualifications can exclude some members of the community.

Resources

Equipment

• At least one car (purchased, leased or donated). Buying an older vehicle can reduce start-up costs
• A key safe that members can access at any time
• A booking system (by phone or online)

People

• An administrator to deal with membership applications, invoices, bookings and admin. Organisations such as Moorcar provide admin services for an annual fee
• A local champion to act as a club advocate
• Someone to ensure that the pool cars are cleaned and serviced

Typical costs

You may require funding to cover the initial set-up and growth period (up to 2 years). After this, membership fees should be enough to cover ongoing costs.

• Employment of a car club champion and an administrator. These roles could be filled by willing volunteers
• Buying or leasing vehicles
• Replacing vehicles
• Vehicle tax, insurance, breakdown cover and servicing
• Ongoing vehicle upkeep (cleaning, regular checks)
• Operating a booking system
• Invoicing

Next steps

Decide what kind of car club would be appropriate:

• How many vehicles do you need?
• What size of vehicles should you get?
• Will you take bookings over the phone or online?

Speak with other organisations who run similar sized schemes to get an idea of appropriate costs.

Work out your finances and look into funding sources:

• What will it cost to buy the car(s) and equipment to set up?
• What will your ongoing costs be?
• How much will you charge for membership?
• How much will you charge for car usage?

Further advice

Hour Car (Hebden Bridge)

Hour Car can advise on the time and technology required to set up and run a club. You can talk to other car club owners about their experiences.

Phone: 01422 847971
Email: [email protected]

Moorcar (Dartmoor)

A rural car cooperative providing support to communities wanting to set up their own car club. They provide an online registration and booking system and insurance per vehicle for an annual fee.

Phone 07753 325014
Email: [email protected]
www.moorcar.co.uk

Case studies

Hour Car, Hebden Bridge

Hour Car is a not-for-profit community car club in the Calder Valley, West Yorkshire. The organisation was formed in 2001, and the car club became active in 2004 following two feasibility studies.

Hour Car started with two cars, but expanded to a fleet of six vehicles shared by 66 members.

Kevin Hogan, Scheme Manager, said "Our Car Club has thrived for over 7 years because of two things: price and reliability. In a way we work like a budget airline – frills are unnecessary: keep costs down!"

Moorcar, Dartmoor

Moorcar started in 2002 with one leased car and six members. It was part of a Carplus sponsored programme in partnership with Sustrans and the Countryside Agency, who funded the project.

By the end of the pilot period in 2004 the car club had 27 members and two leased cars. The club now owns six cars for its 150 members, and serves the neighbouring towns of Buckfastleigh, and Chagford.

Moorcar is a not-for-profit community cooperative with a paid part time co-ordinator. The club members jointly own the cars and share the cost of insurance, tax, breakdown cover and servicing.

People looking to become a member:

• Fill in a membership form
• Submit a copy of their driving licence
• Pay their membership fee and a returnable deposit
• Sign a contract
• Receive an induction

The cost of using a car depends on the vehicle, length of time it is hired and miles driven. Members book online and can see which cars are available.

At the end of each month records are downloaded from the online booking system and a statement is generated giving members details of hours of usage, mileage and any credits due from paying for fuel. Members are then billed for their usage each month.

Hooky Car Club – Hook Norton, Oxfordshire

Hooky Car Club is a rural car club based in the village of Hook Norton. Despite having a regular bus service, many of the village's households rely on cars to make journeys in and out of the village.

The car club was started by the Hook Norton Low Carbon group with the aim of reducing the community's carbon footprint. The group purchased three cars (£20,000 total) using money awarded from the Low Carbon Communities Challenge Fund. They use the online booking, insurance and invoicing services from Moorcar for a cost of £1,500 per car per year.

Hooky Car Club started in April 2011 with 8 members and 3 vehicles. Bookings are made online. Car usage costs 24p per hour and 29p per mile, or a car can be hired for the day for £29. There is also an annual membership fee of £60 which is paid directly to Moorcar.

Usage in the first two months was low. One car was used for three and a half days and another for just six hours. The car club were aware usage would have to substantially increase for the club to be economically viable.