TravelFootprint

Car clubs receive £40,000 grant

Car clubs are set to benefit from an extra £40,000 of Government funding, Transport Minister Norman Baker announced this week. The money will be used to support car club development in the UK.

Membership of a car club allows access to low carbon vehicles for short periods of time, often by the hour, on a pay-as-you-go basis. The clubs have increased massively in popularity with the number of members increasing from just 22,000 in 2007 to more than 127,000 members to date.

The Government views such schemes as an effective way of tackling congestion, reducing the level of CO2 emissions and improving the quality of life of citizens and communities. Members tend to choose to travel fewer miles by car compared to private car owners and the vehicles they do drive are more efficient.

Transport Minister Norman Baker said, "The Coalition Government, in ... More »

First iMiEVs join London Mayor's fleet

Today Transport for London (TfL) welcomed four new electric vehicles into its fleet as part of the Mayor Boris Johnson's plans to make London the electric vehicle capital of Europe.

The four new Mitsubishi i-MiEVs, part funded by the Government's Low Carbon Vehicle Procurement Programme, are the first step to achieving the 1,000 electric vehicles that the Mayor aims to bring into the city's fleet over the next few years.

The new cleaner, greener cars, with specially designed livery to distinguish them from traditional petrol and diesel vehicles, will be used by TfL to ensure that road works comply with their permit scheme to keep traffic moving. By the end of this year, TfL will have up to 10 electric vehicles in its fleet.

Increasing the number of fleet vehicles is one element of the Mayor's plans to boost electric vehicle numbers to ... More »

Mixed reactions to aviation tax reform

This week's Budget revealed that the new government has plans to reform the aviation tax system, in such a way that the Treasury plans to raise £3.8 billion through industry in 2014-2015, compared to £1.9 billion last year. Essentially, this will be achieved by switching from a per-passenger to a per-plane duty, an adjustment that will encourage fuller planes.

Although any major reforms are subject to public consultation, it is likely that such an adjustment to taxation would add hundreds of pounds to the cost of flights for an average family holiday. The prospect of rises in flight costs has alarmed those who fly regularly, and the aviation industry said that families were facing a 'hidden tax bombshell'.

Simon Evans, chief executive of the Air Transport Users Council, said "We accept a polluter must pay, and the reality is in straitened times we all have ... More »

City Car Club launch new website

City Car Club, the UK's leading car club which operates a large national network of self-service pay-as-you-go cars, has launched a brand new website this week.

The site, www.citycarclub.co.uk, has been designed to offer a unique experience for anyone looking into the idea of car clubs and also for existing members of the club.

City Car Club's marketing manager, Chris Seigal explains "Thousands of people across the UK each month are now considering joining a car club as an alternative to private car ownership. As the UK's first car club, City Car Club has long received a high volume of web traffic as visitors come to our site to find out what car clubs are all about.

"Our aim is to try and explain the car club concept in a simple, informative and fun way, and to try and convince as ... More »