Car clubs and car sharing schemes have been hailed as the future of motoring for some time, particularly for those who drive but cannot afford to buy a new or used motor.
They can also be of great help to those motorists who have no access to good, reliable public transport, but need to make a long commute to work every day.
The benefits are not only for the motorist though. A new scheme being launched across Scotland aims to set up and run electric car sharing clubs which will not only help motorists who struggle with their finances, but also promote cleaner, greener driving too.
Transport Scotland Funds the Innovative Scheme
At the time of writing, seven organisations based in Scotland will receive funding from Transport Scotland.
This will enable them to set up and maintain electric vehicle based car sharing clubs, which will help to give members of the public a much wider understanding of how shared travel works. It will also promote the benefits of vehicles which have very low emissions.
It is hoped that people who previously had financial problems will benefit from the scheme as it will eventually enable them to afford to buy and run a car of their own with careful saving or use of a bad credit/no credit car leasing scheme.
The fund totals £358,000, and it’s being delivered by the Energy Saving Trust on behalf of Transport Scotland. Countrywide, it’s hoped that community organisations and social housing providers will share the money to set up and run their own clubs.
Approval from Scottish Cabinet Secretary
Michael Matheson, the Cabinet secretary for transport, infrastructure, and connectivity has stated he is very pleased that the government has been able to support the funding and make electric vehicles accessible to a broad range of communities across the country.
He added that he’d like to make sure the benefits of e-mobility and green transport are widely available to those that currently cannot afford new or used cars.
While the scheme aims to promote the use of greener transport, it also wants to be able to generally encourage the idea of car sharing as a whole, whether by e-mobility or not.
The setting up of car share groups for communities across Scotland and the whole of the UK has seen a rise over the last few years, with more people committing to car sharing during the working week and only running their own family vehicles at weekends and holiday time.
The Energy Saving Trust has also welcomed the scheme and the potential to promote the wider use of e-vehicles, alongside promoting the use of public transport and other car share schemes too.
Making the switch to e-vehicles and reducing the number of traditional cars on the road is important, as is upgrading the quality of public transport throughout the country to improve air quality and help tackle the issue of climate change.
