Portsmouth car club approved
The launch of a new car share scheme covering the south of Portsmouth has been given the green light
Last updated 8th Jul 2023
Transport councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson said he believed the car club scheme, which will be run by Enterprise, would relieve parking pressures in the area.
‘By providing a range of different options for people to be able to get around without using their own private cars it just helps us move gradually to a place where some people will give up their cars – even if it’s a second or third car then that will reduce the number of cars on the streets,’ he said approving its launch at his decision meeting on Friday (July 7).
However, the scheme is not the first of its kind in the city with a group of Wimbledon Park residents launching their own in 2020 – also run by Enterprise – to reduce the need for people to have multiple cars.
Claire Seek, one of the organisers, spoke at Friday’s meeting in support of the council’s plans.
‘Nowadays our two cars are being used 55 per cent of the time which is very positive and we’ve got people in our neighbourhood who don’t have a car at all any more,’ she said. ‘People very much view it as being part of a portfolio of options for transport.’
The council’s scheme is due to launch in August and follows years of discussions with potential providers. Ten cars will be provided initially, eight of which will be spread across the south of the city in dedicated on-street parking bays while the other two electric vehicles will be available at Lakeside business park.
The phone-based system will allow people to take out a £60-a-year membership after which the vehicles can be used for £6.70 an hour.
Initial plans were for 12 cars in the south of the city but four have been shelved since the legal order approving the bays was signed off.
The approved locations are: Talbot Road, Devonshire Square, Festing Road, Craneswater Park, Clarence Road, Victoria Road South, Kings Road, Cottage Grove and Lakeside.