About the Car Club
For information about joining the Car Club and how it works see the Car Club main page. Read below for extra information about who runs it, the Council's involvement, its benefits and about the reserved parking spaces.
Who runs the Car Club?
WhizzGo runs the Car Club. It is a commercial organisation that already runs Car Clubs in Leeds, York, Liverpool, Manchester, London, Brighton and Southampton.
How is the Council involved with the Car Club and why?
The Council decided that the city would benefit from a Car Club. See the benefits of a Car Club below. The Council chose WhizzGo through a tendering process.
WhizzGo are contracted to the Council to provide a particular level of service to people and organisations who join the Car Club and to develop the Car Club in a way that the Council has determined will benefit the city.
The Council is supporting WhizzGo by freeing up parking spaces for the cars and by encouraging organisations to join up.
How are the numbers of cars and the location decided? Will this change?
The scheme started with seven cars in April 2007 and now there are 13. WhizzGo will provide more cars as demand increases. The locations of the Car Club depend on whether there would be enough regular use.
The city centre is an ideal place to start. There are a lot of potential users based there - individuals and organisations who can share the use of the Car Club. If there is enough demand (regular use) in other areas of the city, WhizzGo will consider extending the Car Club to those locations.
A recent survey showed a demand for Car Club cars in areas including Hunters Bar. In response to that WhizzGo made available a car at Sharrow Vale Road in September 2008.
What are the benefits of the Car Club to users?
The people who will benefit most are those who decide not to own a car (or a second car) and instead use the Car Club.
Owning a car can involve a lot of hassle, from spending time and money on its upkeep to finding somewhere to put it when it's not being used. The Car Club removes this hassle. If you don't need to use a car all the time the Car Club is often a cheaper option.
What are the benefits of the Car Club to the city?
Travel is important to people in their personal lives and for business. The Car Club is a new travel option for people in Sheffield making it easier to choose the right way to get around.
The effect travel has on congestion and the environment is also important. The Car Club aims to reduce the number of cars driven into the city centre and also encourages people to think about how they manage their travel. This should help reduce traffic levels and traffic pollution.
Why can only Car Club cars use the parking spaces?
There are seven locations in the city centre for Car Club cars - 13 parking spaces reserved for Car Club cars only. The spaces cannot be used for other cars because the Car Club member using that car needs to be able to bring it back to that location for the next person to use it.
Is it right for the Car Club to take up city centre parking spaces?
There is an argument that the Car Club shouldn't use city centre parking spaces because it reduces the chance for people driving in of finding somewhere to park. The Car Club should actually help free up parking spaces. The Car Club is intended to reduce the number of vehicles brought into the city centre - see the benefits above - which will in turn reduce parking spaces used in the city centre.
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