Car clubs
A car club vehicle is essentially a pay-as-you-go car. Club cars are different to hire cars because they are located close to your home or business and once you are a member, there’s no paperwork to fill out each time you want one.
At the end of your booking you return the car to its dedicated parking bay. There’s no need to worry about the costs of maintenance or insurance or even petrol.
Exchange your resident permit for car club membership
Car owners in Lambeth are currently being given the opportunity to exchange their resident's parking permits for free car club membership and drive time. To be eligible you must have held your current annual permit for at least two years and have sold your vehicle. For more information see parking permits exchange.
How they work
Book - Book for as little as half an hour at a time, using the phone or internet. The booking can be made well ahead of time or with a few minutes notice.
Unlock - Cars are located at dedicated parking bays in the local area and are accessed using the members smart card (like an oyster card).
Drive - Once inside the driver enters their PIN and drives away, returning the car to its dedicated parking bay at the end of the booking. It is possible to extend the booking if necessary.
Pay - Pay-as-you-go charges apply and include fuel and maintenance costs. A membership charge usually also applies.
Pick-up locations
Demand for car club vehicles has been growing steadily. In 2007, there was only one on-street car. Today more than one hundred vehicles are available for people in Lambeth to use.
From Stockwell to Streatham, Waterloo to West Norwood, most Lambeth residents are now within 5 minutes walk of a car club car!
To find out the location of your nearest car club:
- go to www.carclubs.org.uk and enter your postcode
- look out for the Car Club logo on a street sign near you
(This logo is the public face of all the borough’s car clubs. It is displayed on street signs and on all promotional material.)
To join a car club that operates in the Lambeth borough, go to:
View a map of Car Clubs pick-up location car parking bays in Lambeth.
Cost
Charges start from only £3.60 per hour, depending on the operator, the type of car, and sometimes the time of day or day of the week.
For people who use their cars only a few times a week, then Car Clubs can be a very economical alternative to owning your own car.
In fact car users who drive less than 6,000 miles per year could save up to £1,500 annually by using a car club.
Benefits
Apart from the cost and time benefits of not having to worry about parking permits, insurance, maintenance and petrol, car club users who give up their cars also benefit their local community by helping to reduce parking stress, traffic congestion and improve local air quality.
On average, former car owners who join car clubs see their average annual mileage decrease by around 25% while their use of public transport and cycling increases by around 40%. Carplus estimate that with the growing popularity and development of car clubs that by 2010 there will be 300,000 fewer cars on the road.
Contact details
For more information about car clubs in Lambeth borough, call Saleem Patel on 020 7926 9004 or email: spatel2@lambeth.gov.uk.