Parking bays provided for car club hire schemes

The Highland Council’s Community Services is running a trial which will involve creating car club bays on street and in car parks around the Highlands that will allow vehicles to be made available for hire by joining a car club.

The service will be provided by private companies approved by the council and will begin in late September early October 2016. These “car club” bays will be fully protected by Traffic Regulations and if motorists park in them and are not in a car club vehicle they will be issued with a Penalty Charge Notice.

Car clubs provide a cost effective and environmentally friendly service reducing overall vehicle ownership and therefore the number of vehicles driving in towns and cities. In successful schemes it has been shown that for every 1 car club vehicle 8 vehicles are removed from the network.

During the signing and lining refresh required as a necessary part of Decriminalised Parking Enforcement, the Council is able to provide these facilities to support a sustainable transport solution. Initially 12 car club bays have been installed in Inverness and more are planned for Fort William, Wick and Thurso in due course.

 

Cllr Allan Henderson, Chair of the Council’s Community Services Committee said: “Highland Council is committed to creating sustainable transport in the region and car clubs are a good way of reducing vehicle numbers on our roads and therefore emissions. We will watch with interest the uptake of this trial scheme once it is up and running.”

Neil MacRae, HITRANS Partnership Manager, added: “HITRANS welcome the work that Highland Council is doing to help support car clubs become established in Inverness, with hopefully other towns to follow. In other cities they have been shown to reduce car use and provide people who don’t want to buy a car with a sustainable alternative”

Visit www.carplus.org.uk to discover Car Clubs and the benefits they can bring.

Car clubs provide easy and affordable access to vehicles 24/7. Just book, drive and return the car.

• Book a car online or by phone, weeks ahead or with just a few minutes’ notice, for anything from an hour to a weekend
• Unlock a car in your neighbourhood, parked in a designated parking bay. It’s clean and ready to go. Just swipe your smart card get the keys from the car and off you go.
• Drive for as long as you’ve booked it for (anything from an hour to a weekend or more) for an hourly rate from as little as £3.50. When you’ve finished just return your car to the same location.
• Payment is taken from your account. You get a breakdown by email or text message. No forms, no fuss.