Shrewsbury car club

Shrewsbury residents and business people are invited to a public meeting on Monday 28 May 2012 to find out about plans for a car club in the town.  The meeting will be held at Coleham Primary School in Belle Vue, starting at 7pm.

Car clubs provide new, fuel-efficient vehicles which are available to members for personal or business use.  Members pay a fee to join and are charged for the journeys they make.  It has been calculated that people who drive less than 6,000 miles per year could save up to £3,500 by joining a car club.

Car clubs are running successfully in other parts of the UK, and can help with the problems of parking and congestion.  Shrewsbury members will be able to use any of the cars in the county, and possibly have access to cars in other areas.

Shrewsbury is one of three towns (along with Ludlow and Bishop’s Castle) where the first cars will be available later this year, following a successful bid by Shropshire Council to the Local Sustainable Transport Fund.  The Shrewsbury Car Club will aim to be self-sustaining, and car clubs may expand to other towns in future.

Simon Jones, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for sustainable transport, said:

“This is a fantastic scheme which I’m sure will get a lot of support from local people.  It is hoped that car clubs will solve parking and congestion issues in these towns, as well as allowing people to have access to a car without the high costs associated with individual car ownership.

“Our successful bid to the Local Sustainable Transport Fund last year means that we have the funds available to cover the start-up costs of such a scheme and, once established, they will be funded through user charges.”

Local residents Kaye Chambers and Chris Endacott have been involved in the development of the project and will be at the public meeting to answer questions about why they support the project.  Kaye said:

“I live and work near the centre of Shrewsbury and I make most of my regular journeys by bicycle.  I only need to use a car occasionally, and I’m hoping that a car club will mean I don’t need to own my own car, which would save me money as well as the hassle of insuring and looking after the car.”

More information is available at www.shropshirecarclub.co.uk. People are also invited to complete a short survey to give their views, either online, or by completing a paper version which is available in libraries, council offices and other outlets in the towns.