Step 3. What operational model would suit your needs best?

There are a number of different operational models:

1. Own the car(s) and manage the operation of the scheme
2. Own the car(s) and run the scheme via a franchise or a peer-to-peer platform*
3. Don’t own any assets but instead promote community peer-to-peer car sharing*
   

* Peer-to-peer car sharing is like an AirBnB for cars. You can list your car on the platform and anyone who is registered can hire the car by the hour or day. The platform takes care of all the booking, billing and drivers checks.

Requirements of each model:

1. This model requires resources to manage bookings and billing, vehicle maintenance and cleaning, driver checks, insurance, customer enquiries, promotion etc.
2. This model requires fewer resources than running the scheme all in-house, but some level of resource is required for promotion, vehicle maintenance and cleaning. Booking and billing, drivers checks and insurance and breakdown cover is all taken care of by the franchise / peer-to-peer platform.
3. This model would only require minimal resources, mainly promotion to encourage locals to list their cars and for others to hire them.

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What type of vehicle is best? 

Ideally you would start off with at least two cars, this means it is less likely that both cars are booked out at the same time so people should be able to get a car when needed, or if one car is off the road for maintenance.

The type of vehicle you choose depends on the goal of your car share scheme and its likely users. If your goal is to provide a more sustainable transport option and to reduce carbon emissions, it is likely you will want to run an electric car. Electric cars have many benefits and may help you achieve your low-carbon goals, but they also require more planning to set up and run, such as installing charging infrastructure and helping drivers familiarise themselves with the vehicles.

If your primary aim is to improve local access, then you may wish to go for a low emission petrol car. This is easier to set up as such vehicles don’t require special infrastructure and drivers will already be familiar with the vehicles.

You will want the size and type of car to suit your users, but you will never be able to meet everyone’s requirements. If you think most users of the scheme will be families or individuals taking the cars for longer periods, then you may want to provide a larger vehicle. Generally, smaller cars work best where the trips are shorter ones around your local area.

Additional consideration if choosing an electric car:

• EV charging infrastructure - The cost of installing an EV chargepoint can vary considerably depending on the speed of the chargepoint and network connections. There may be funding available to meet some of the cost of charging infrastructure, please check our funding for communities page.
• Speed of the chargepoint – chargepoints come in 3 speeds; slow, fast and rapid. A rapid chargepoint can charge an EV in around 20 mins, but it is the most expensive option. A 7kW chargepoint will charge an EV overnight. As a new EV will have a range of around 150 miles plus, an overnight charge should be adequate if the car is only being used for short trips during the day (i.e., it shouldn’t need a full charge between trips).
• If you don’t own the land where you wish to install the EV chargepoint, you will need permission from the landowner.
• To ensure the car has enough charge for the next person, you may want to manage the bookings closely. For example, if someone books the car out for two days, you will probably want to block the car for a few hours to ensure it has time to re-charge before the next booking.
• As you will be relying on users to plug in the EV so it’s charged properly for the next user, you will need to ensure they know how to do this correctly. You can run familiarisation sessions where you show new members how to  charge the vehicle, but it is also a good idea to have some instructions in the car as well.