Agenda item

Report of Corporate Director of Growth and City Development

Chris carter, Head of Transport Strategy, presented the report and stated the following:

i.  a car club offers ‘pay as you go’ car hire for the public and for businesses. It contributes to Nottingham’s sustainable transport approach by offering an alternative to private car ownership for journeys not suitable or possible by alternative means of transport. The benefits of car clubs are that it can be a cheaper option than owning a car, helps to reduce congestion, reduces parking pressure and helps cut pollution;

ii.  all costs and responsibilities associated with private vehicle ownership are included in the annual membership, hourly booking rates and mileage rates. This creates a saving for members when compared with traditional car ownership with limited mileage (typically less than 7,000 miles per year;

iii.   CoMoUK, the national charity dedicated to the social, economic and environmental benefits of shared transport, recently published their annual study into car club usage. The report highlighted that nationally there has been a significant growth in car club membership, which has more than doubled since 2019. On average each car club vehicle in the UK has replaced 22 private vehicles;

iv.   the Nottingham car club has been in operation since 2014. First launched with a City Centre focus it was retendered in 2019. The contract was awarded to Enterprise and will expire in May 2024;

v.  the car club operates on a ‘back to bay’ model whereby users hire and return a vehicle to a dedicated location. The current fleet comprises of 20-25 vehicles and is a mixture of low emission, hybrid and fully electric vehicles;

vi.  the scheme operates on a fully commercial basis with the concessionaire taking on responsibility for all costs associated with the operation of the scheme including vehicle purchase, fuel, tax, insurance, cleaning, maintenance, customer support, online booking and payment system.

Resolved to

(1)  approve undertaking procurement to retender for a concessionaire to deliver the Nottingham Car Club for up to five years (a 3 + 2 year concession contract);

(2)  delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Growth and City Development to award the contract to the successful provider following the tender process.

Reasons for recommendations

i.  Retendering of the Nottingham Car Club scheme will secure commitment to expand the operating fleet to new hire locations across the city, that will increase the availability of car club vehicles to more residents, businesses and visitors. To support CN28 and cleaner air objectives the operator will also be required to increase the share of low and zero emission vehicles.

ii.  In order to expand the car club, it will be necessary to allocate additional dedicated car club bays in commercial and residential areas, which for on-street locations will require the implementation of further Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs). Future bay locations will be assessed for their viability in terms of customer attractiveness, commercial value and deliverability of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

iii.  The current concession includes payment of an annual charge by the operator for each dedicated parking bay plus a revenue share. This allows the scheme to operate without the need for Council funding.

iv.  Increasing the number of electric vehicles in the car club fleet will require an increased deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure. This will need to be integrated with the Council’s roll out of public charging facilities.

v.  The cost of changing infrastructure will be funded through a combination of income generated from the scheme and local transport grant funding.

vi.  Income generated through the scheme will contribute to existing Council savings as well as supporting promotional activity such as discounted drivetime to Nottingham residents or expansion of the service into neighbourhoods that would otherwise not be commercially viable.

Other options considered

Three other options were considered - i. do nothing, ii. extend with the existing operator and iii. deliver in house. 

i.  Do nothing. As a minimum, the current car club scheme could continue (or decline) on a commercial basis without further involvement from the Council. Outside of a formal contractual arrangement the Council would not benefit from the income generated and lose all influence over the scheme so was, rejected.

ii.  Extend with the existing operator. The tender award in 2019 was for a three-year concession, with an option to extend for a further two years. The two-year extension has already been utilised and further extension of this contract has therefore been rejected.

iii.  Deliver in house. The specialist skills and resources required to operate and manage a car club are not available within the Council for the service to be delivered in house, resulting in this option being rejected.