Oxfordshire EV club pilot starts

An Oxfordshire electric vehicle (EV) sharing pilot scheme is starting, with 14 new EVs available for people to hire on an hourly or daily basis.

Oxfordshire County Council, Oxford City Council, Cherwell, South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse and West Oxfordshire district councils have partnered with car club providers Co Wheels, Enterprise CarClub, and Thame EV Car Hire to offer pay-per-use EVs on a 12-month trial basis.

The scheme gives people the chance to access an EV when they need one, without the expense of owning or leasing one outright. Car clubs can make it much more affordable for people who don’t drive every day and provide real-world experience of driving electric without a long-term commitment.

Jenny Figueiredo, Oxfordshire County Council’s EV Charging Project Manager, said:

Introducing EV car clubs right across the county is a key step in cutting our carbon emissions, as well as reducing the amount of individual vehicles on our roads and helping people to reduce the cost of living.

Providing pay per use car sharing schemes like this makes it possible for people to consider giving up their own cars or second cars, and also to be more conscious of making an active decision about every journey they make.

It is estimated that a successful car club vehicle can take on average 20 individually owned cars – often petrol or diesel vehicles – off the road.

Following on from the success that Oxford has seen with its growing network of car club vehicles around the city, the countywide pilot will assess demand for shared EVs and car club models across Oxfordshire.

Richard Falconer from Co Wheels said:

We have seen growing demand for shared vehicles – especially electric cars – in Oxford city as people realise that owning a car can damage your wallet as well as the environment.

We think it is the ideal time to make zero emission cars available across the county as it has such a high level of residents who want to travel more sustainably. Oxfordshire is at the cutting edge of how we will use cars in future and is setting an example that other parts of the country will follow.

Daniel Gursel, Enterprise CarClub Director, said:

We are delighted to work with Oxfordshire County Council to launch this service. Car club is a great option to meet changing travel patterns for both residents and visitors to the area as well as helping reduce private car ownership and give people the opportunity to drive an EV.

Enterprise CarClub members have access to our complete network of around 1,500 vehicles in more than 220 towns, cities and communities across the UK. This means they can enjoy the convenience of shared mobility not only in Oxfordshire but also when travelling elsewhere in the country.

Ross Batting, director of Thame EV Car Hire, said:

The residents of Thame are embracing the green revolution and we firmly believe a community EV car club scheme can be a major part of this. The future of mobility looks very different from the traditional car ownership model, and we are proud to be able to play a part in a greener, more sustainable future for the wonderful town of Thame and beyond.

Most of the vehicles – which can be hired by the hour or by the day – are brand new fully battery EVs with a range of between 150 – 250 miles each. They will largely be based at the recently installed Park and Charge EV charging hubs in district council owned car parks across the county.

There will also be a new EV car club vehicle at the Energy SuperHub at Redbridge Park and Ride in Oxford for the same trial period.