Space freed up by car clubs could nearly cover Hyde Park, analysis finds
Space almost equivalent to the size of London's Hyde Park is freed up by short-term car rental schemes, according to a report.
Analysis by shared transport charity CoMoUK found non-corporate users of UK car clubs last year said they had sold or deferred purchasing a total of nearly 120,000 vehicles since they joined.
Based on the typical size of parking spaces, these private cars would have occupied an area exceeding 138 hectares.
Hyde Park is about 142 hectares.
The analysis also found each car club vehicle replaces an average of 27 private cars.
UK car clubs open to the public had 307,437 active users last year, up 1% from 2023.
Their fleet size in 2024 was 4,383 vehicles, a 3% decrease from the previous 12 months.
The schemes give people access to cars without the costs or other obligations of ownership.
Most operate on a membership basis with annual or monthly fees, plus per mile and per hour charges for using cars on a pay as you go basis.
Separately, some companies give their employees access to corporate car clubs for business and personal travel.
CoMoUK chief executive Richard Dilks said: 'Car clubs provide hassle-free, inclusive and affordable access to cars for journeys when they are really needed, so it is no wonder that they are proving more and more popular.
'Our research shows that car clubs replace private cars with a much smaller number of more efficiently-used vehicles.
'As well as improving air quality and cutting traffic congestion, the reduced need for private car storage frees up an astonishing amount of space which can be used for other purposes.
'In London, for example, this space could be used to provide homes for approximately 6,000 people.'
Mr Dilks added that 'much more could be done to encourage car clubs to thrive', and he called on governments and local authorities to 'go further to foster environments where car clubs can grow'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
36 minutes ago
- The Sun
Woman dies and nine injured in horror M4 crash as motorway shut ‘for most the day' with cops launching urgent hunt
A WOMAN has died in a car crash that hospitalised nine other people last night. The fatal crash happened on the M4 between junctions 16 and 17, just before 11.30pm last night. 1 A womanin her 40s sadly died at the scene, and another woman in her 70s was seriously injured Five other people in the car had minor injuries. There were also three people travelling in the second car who were hurt and were taken to hospital with minor injuries. Wiltshire Police's Serious Collision Team are at the scene carrying out an investigation into what happened. The motorway is likely to be closed westbound for most of the day, likely causing disruption for a large number of people. Cops received reports that a white vehicle may have been involved and left the scene. Any witnesses to the collision or anyone who may have dashcam footage are asked to contact the serious collision investigation team on 01225 694597, quoting log number 399.
BBC News
39 minutes ago
- BBC News
Peterborough school head teacher wants to buck low literacy trend
The head teacher of a city junior school said he was on a mission to make "lifelong readers" out of his Augustine's Junior School in Peterborough is located in an area where pupil literacy rates were below the national by the Literacy Trust showed just two-thirds of pupils in the city finished primary school at the expected reading level."We really want to buck that trend as much as possible," said headteacher Sam Brunt. The school has pupils from 32 countries of origin with 35 different languages spoken, which Mr Brunt said posed some challenges but also "presents lots of opportunities"."Looking back, I probably had quite a sheltered upbringing, whereas the good thing about our school is we've got loads of opportunities to share different beliefs and different languages," he at the school encouraged reading with an outdoor book bus in the school's garden, which the children are free to use during break also have a dedicated session each day where a teacher reads a story, which deputy head and English lead Jen Brattan said was "a priority"."We host reading cafes where we get as many parents into school as possible to teach them about the importance of reading," she said."It's easy to think you don't need to read with [older] children anymore, and we send that message that no matter what age your child is, they love to sit down and enjoy a book with an adult." Research by the Literacy Trust shows reading for fun enhances young people's academic performance as well as their wellbeing and said just one in five young people aged between five and 18 read for enjoyment, a figure which was a "concerning" all-time wards in Peterborough were deemed to be in the top 10% of wards in the country with the greatest "literacy need", according to the Augustine's has several pupils who act as reading champions by encouraging their peers to get involved in reading for a year six pupil, said: "I like reading because it makes you feel like you're in your own dream that you can control."Emilija, in year five, said: "When you sit down with your book, you feel nice and relaxed," while Ellie, in the same year group, said: "I like reading because it helps me learn new vocabulary, and helps me to go in different worlds." Peterborough City Council said it was working with families and schools to try and tackle low literacy rates, especially in more deprived Cole, the cabinet member for children's services, said: "There is a challenge, which could be working patterns [or] it could be access to books."She said the council was working with schools where literacy levels were lower to come up with an improvement plan and encourage those doing well to share best practice."Teachers are very good at magpie-ing," said Cole, who has been a teacher for 20 years."They see an initiative that works in one school, take it on board, thinking 'how can I implement that in my own setting?'" Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Symbolic tree in Reading used to help recruit foster carers
A tree planted to symbolise keeping children in care rooted in the communities they come from has been decorated with messages from foster parents and young Fostering held an information event at the tree - planted four years ago - in Reading town centre as staff sought to recruit more Capan, who works for the agency, said some children have to be placed outside their hometown because of a lack of foster can foster children from Reading if they have a spare room, are aged over 21 and live within 20 miles of the town. "Due to the lack of fosters carers in the past and even currently, children end up going out of area which we don't want for them," said Ms Capan."We want them to be secure here in Reading so that's what the tree symbolises."Sinead Gibson, who has fostered for nearly 20 years, said she enjoys the difference she can make."I've learned that you can just never predict," she said."You might get a description of the child and the child may have loads of difficulties on paper and then when the child comes to you, you're just a fit and it works." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
