The popularity of car clubs is rising as people seek to reduce the burden of maintaining and running a costly car that also contributes negatively to the environment. Streetcar could be the answer for those who do not want to incur the costs of keeping a car in London, along with the associated environmental damage, but also recognise that sometimes you need a vehicle larger and more powerful than a bicycle. Streetcar enables almost instant access to last minute transport but without the cost of owning a car or adding excessively to traffic pollution.

How does it work?

Streetcar enables you to rent a car, people carrier or van (ideal if you are moving house) for as little as 30 minutes to as long as 6 months [1]. Streetcar operates in London, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Kent, Oxford, Southampton, and Surrey [1]. In the cities the vehicles are located in many different areas, and in London you will find cars in every borough in multiple locations. For example, if I wanted to rent a Streetcar in Clapham, I have a choice of about 24 different locations where cars are parked and I can go and pick one up. Once you have registered that you want to rent a car, Streetcar will send you a text message giving you the code to enter so you can access the car and drive away. On completing your journey, you can either drop the car off in the same location or deposit it at your destination.

Booking a car through Streetcar is very easy and you can do it over the phone or on the internet. You can book and use the car almost instantly as once the booking is processed it only takes 60 seconds for it to register on the car. Bookings start on the hour or half hour and you can book as far as 6 months ahead [1]. If you find that you need more time, you can easily extend your booking by texting the word EXTEND to the relevant number [1].

Overall, if you do not use a car regularly, Streetcar is an economic solution and a more environmentally friendly way to use a car. For example, if you need to hire a small vehicle for just one hour it will cost you £4.95 and a seven-seater will cost £7.95 [1]. Streetcar argues that on average every Streetcar replaces 26 privately owned cars as people joining Streetcar will more than likely sell their own cars [1]. So if you want a less costly, environmental burden weighing on your shoulders, Streetcar may be the answer for you.

References

[1] Streetcar (2010) [Online]. Available from: http://www.streetcar.co.uk/what_is_streetcar.aspx