Electric car club launches in Poole

The Borough of Poole has partnered with Co-wheels, an independent national car club, to provide an initial three electric cars on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Car club members can benefit from a cheaper, greener and more convenient alternative to owning and using their own car.

Members can book a car online or over the phone, and use a membership card to access it – there’s no need for a key. At the end of the booking, the car is returned back into its bay. Insurance and fuel are included, and you only pay for the time you hire.

The electric cars will be exclusively used by council staff between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday. The cars are then available to members of the public, and staff for personal use, during evenings, weekends and public holidays.

Two Car Club cars are located in the surface car park next to the Civic Centre and the third can be found at Newfields in Hatchpond.

Cllr Ian Potter, cabinet portfolio holder for transportation, Borough of Poole, said: “We are delighted that this scheme is now up and running and offers our community a more sustainable travel option.

“In the coming months, we hope to trial an innovative ‘Travelmates’ scheme, whereby groups of car club members will carshare and move vehicles between a day time business location and an evening and weekend residential location. This means that some of the cars can be located in other parts of the town, giving more Poole residents access to a car club car in their neighbourhood. If the Poole Car Club proves really popular then we will consider adding more vehicles as membership and usage grows.

"I’m also pleased that the electric vehicles based at the Civic Centre will use electricity generated by the solar panels installed on the multi-storey car park. This is a UK first and a great example of how our joined-up energy thinking can benefit Poole in the longer term."