Motoring
Eco car club planned for S Somerset By Miranda Robertson newsdesk@blackmorevale.net
A new initiative to enable people to use a pool of electric cars across south Somerset is being considered. A survey has been launched to establish interest in a community led electric car club for the area. The plan has been drawn up by the district council with Co Cars and follows a successful pilot scheme where people can hire electric scooters. If successful, the new scheme would enable affordable access to electric cars, which would be parked across the district ready for people to use. Residents, businesses and community organisations are being asked for their views on establishing a community-led electric car club for South Somerset via a short online
survey. Since the announcement of the Government’s 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles, interest in electric cars has surged by 500%. However, they remain too expensive for many people. In addition, one of the third of households cannot charge a car at home. The council says an electric car club would address these challenges by locating cars across the district, bookable from as little as half an hour for one all-inclusive price. This would give members access to electric cars without having to own one. Furthermore, by switching to using an electric car club and getting rid of an occasionally used personal vehicle, members could save money while also helping reduce the area’s congestion, parking and
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pollution problems. The survey also asks if respondents would be interested in an electric bike share scheme. Because they are electrically assisted, the bikes are a great alternative to the car for many shorter trips including commuting, everyday errands and leisure trips. Councillor Sarah Dyke, SSDC portfolio holder for
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environment, said: “Our commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030 remains our priority and we’re determined to keep pushing to meet the key milestones set out in our environment delivery plan. “We are already successfully delivering an electric scooter hire trial scheme in Yeovil and will soon extend this to Crewkerne and Chard, so this is a natural next step to provide eco-friendly transport choices for our communities.” The survey is available at bit.ly/SSomerset until April 30. The results of the survey will not only help establish the viability of the project but will also be shared with SSDC to assist their planning. The survey is being run in partnership with Co Cars car club, a social enterprise that has an established network of low and zero emission cars across the South West. Co-Cars company also runs the Co Bikes electric bike sharing scheme. Mark Hodgson, MD of Co Cars, said: “Over the last 12 months, we have seen a huge surge of interest in our shared electric cars and bikes. We’re really excited to see if we can bring them to South Somerset.”
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