Car sharing viable for over half a million in Scotland, says CoMoUK

Shared transport organisation Collaborative Mobility UK (CoMoUK) analysis estimates that around 634,000 households in Scotland could replace their private vehicle with car sharing.

CoMoUK looked at data from Scotland’s most recent household survey to identify how many could benefit from car sharing and is now urging governments to start funding and promoting more schemes.

Pay-per-trip car clubs, sometimes known as car sharing, allow individuals and businesses to have access to a personal vehicle without being tied to ownership.

The research looked at data to estimate the potential number of households who could give up a first or second household car, if a car club were provided.

Households with certain characteristics (car ownership, car use frequency, driver age and disability) were identified that indicated that they could feasibly switch from owning and using a (first or second) private car to using a combination of public transport, active travel and a car club car when needed.

CoMoUK also said the accumulated carbon savings by households switching to pay-as-you-go car use would be 87,000 tonnes per annum, and it would save families “thousands of pounds” as well.

There are now over 25,000 members of car clubs in Scotland, which is up from 19,872 last year – an increase of 27%.

Lorna Finlayson, Scotland director for CoMoUK, said: “This analysis shows dramatic levels of potential in Scotland.

“Shared transport can help achieve net zero carbon emissions as it enables people to use transport without the need to own it, shifting to services such as car sharing, bike share and shared rides – which have a lower impact on the environment and transport infrastructure.

“With the eyes of the world on Scotland ahead of COP26 in Glasgow, now is the time to seize the opportunity and strive for a cleaner and more sustainable future for our country."