Electric vehicle car-sharing scheme launched
Oxfordshire's councils have partnered with car club providers for the 12-month pilot scheme
At a glance
Fourteen new electric vehicles will be made available for people to hire on an hourly or daily basis in Oxfordshire
The scheme aims to cut carbon emissions and reduce the number of vehicles on the roads
Six councils have partnered with car club providers on the scheme
- Published
An electric vehicle (EV) car sharing scheme has been launched as part of a new trial.
Oxfordshire County Council, Oxford City Council, and Cherwell, South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse and West Oxfordshire district councils have teamed up to provide the cars across the county.
The 14 new EVs will be available for people to hire on an hourly or daily basis.
Jenny Figueiredo, the county council's EV charging project manager, called it a "key step" in cutting carbon emissions.
She said it would also reduce the amount of individual vehicles on the county's roads and help people during the cost of living crisis.
The council estimates each vehicle could take, on average, 20 individually-owned cars off the road.
Ms Figueiredo said: "Providing pay per use car sharing schemes like this makes it possible for people to consider giving up their own cars or second cars, and also to be more conscious of making an active decision about every journey they make."
'Cutting edge'
Car club membership will be required in order to use the EVs.
The council described it as an opportunity to "provide real-world experience of driving electric without a long-term commitment" while helping it assess demand for shared EVs and car club models.
The six authorities have partnered with Co Wheels, Enterprise Car Club and Thame EV Car Hire for the 12-month pilot scheme.
Richard Falconer, from Co Wheels, said the county had a "high level of residents who want to travel more sustainably".
"Oxfordshire is at the cutting edge of how we will use cars in future and is setting an example that other parts of the country will follow," he added.
The EVs, which each have a range of between 150 to 250 miles (240 to 400km) , will be based at park and charge charging hubs in district council-owned car parks and at Redbridge Park and Ride in Oxford.
A £5.4m scheme to install a network of EV charging points county-wide was completed last year.
A zero emissions zone was also launched in the centre of Oxford to clear it of polluting vehicles.