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Car clubs

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What is a car club?

A car club is a car sharing network which provides an easy, cheap and environmentally friendly alternative to owning a car. A car club vehicle is parked near where you live, ready for hire when you need it. Car clubs help to reduce the number of private vehicles on the road as users often choose to give up a private vehicle or not to purchase a new car. This helps to free up parking spaces and reduce CO2 emissions.

There two types of car clubs operating in Waltham Forest - round-trip (or fixed bay-based) and one-way (or flexible).

The round-trip car clubs are offered by Enterprise, Ubeeqo and Zipcar. Car club cars and vans are parked on-street in their own designated bays. Vehicles need to be returned to their original parking bay when you have finished using them. There are 75 round-trip car club vehicles in the borough.

DriveNow is a flexible one-way car club owned by BMW. Members pay a one-off lifetime membership fee to access the fleet of cars including a number of electric vehicles. There are no designated parking bays and drivers can park in any residents' or pay and display bays within the DriveNow Zone.

In Autumn 2017, Zipcar also launched Zipcar Flex, a flexible one-way car share service. Zipcar members can access both round-trip fixed bay vehicles and flexible vehicles using the same free app.

The expansion of car clubs can help local residents and businesses by:

  • Providing an easier alternative to owning a car as you don't have to organise tax, parking permits, insurance etc.
  • Helping you save money - if you drive two or three times a week (6,000– 8,000 miles per year) you could save up to £3,500 annually by giving up a car and joining a car club.
  • Helping you move home or carry heavy shopping if you don’t own a car
  • Making more parking space for everyone – 28% of car club members based in London have reduced the number of vehicles owned by their household since joining a car club. It is estimated that each club car replaces 10.5 vehicles removed from the road in the last 12 months.
  • Reducing NOx and CO2 pollution thanks to new car share cars that are cleaner and more fuel efficient
  • Easing local traffic congestion – because residents and businesses are less reliant on private vehicles and use them more sparingly
  • Giving people who cannot afford their own car access to vehicles when they need them.

For more information, please visit the Como website.

How does it work? Click to get info

Enterprise, Ubeeqo and Zipcar vehicles are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can be booked by the hour, day or as long as you want. Cars can be booked online, through the relevant app or by phone in. Zipcar Flex vehicles can be found in the Zipcar app.

DriveNow vehicles can be found, reserved and unlocked with the DriveNow app. Choose to drive by the minute, hour or day and then end your rental in any residents' or pay and display bay with the DriveNow Zone for free.

How much does it cost? Click to get info

Zipcar membership costs a one-off £19 joining fee or £6 a month and cars start at £3 per hour or 29p per minute with Flex. Tax, petrol, insurance, parking in the designated bay, congestion charges, servicing and repairs are included in the cost.

Ubeeqo membership is free, with no annual costs, and all new members receive £20 towards their first booking. Hourly rate for hire starts at £4.50 an hour. Tax, petrol, insurance, parking in the designated bay, congestion charges, servicing and repairs are included in the cost.

Enterprise Car Club annual membership costs £20 (usually £60) with £20 of driving credit included. Hourly rate on the standard plan starts at £4.95. Quote WALTHAM when applying online. As a member you will benefit from having fuel, MOTs, parking permits, and servicing all covered.

DriveNow members are charged a one-off lifetime registration fee of £29 and can drive from 33p per minute (drive by the minute option) or £8 an hour (hourly packages option). There are also 2 and 3 day packages as well as Savings Packages available to suit all members driving requirements. Fuel, parking, insurance and a generous mileage allowance are all included.

How do I join? Click to get info

Request a bay Click to get info

We are working to expand the dedicated car club network in Waltham Forest. To request a car club bay near you, call  Waltham Forest Direct on 020 8496 3000 or email wfdirect@walthamforest.gov.uk with Car Club Bay Request in the subject line.

Waltham Forest's Zipcar parking bays can be found on the Zipcar website.

You can pick up any one of the DriveNow vehicles from any valid parking bay and drop them off in any residents' or pay and display bay around Waltham Forest (south of the North Circular), Haringey, Hackney and Islington. The DriveNow fleet includes BMW 1 series, Mini 3 door, 5 door and Convertible as well as the all electric BMW i3.

There are three main differences between the flexible service and the dedicated bay scheme. With the Flexible service (DriveNow and Zipcar Flex):

  • You don't need to make reservations
  • There is no return point and no fixed return time, so you can take the vehicle on one-way trips
  • You can park the vehicle in any valid bay - you don't need to use designated bays

Valid bays exclude dedicated bays such as disabled, doctors, car club bays, loading bays, electric vehicle charging bays etc.

There are also a few areas of high parking stress where vehicles cannot be left. Full details of valid parking bays are included within the vehicles.