Zipcar Launched UK’s Greenest Car Club

The Westminster City Council partnered with Zipcar and opened the greenest car club in UK yesterday, which will include a fleet of 20 hybrid vehicles, also offering members access to the country’s first all-electric car club vehicle, the Citroen C1.

Other cars included in the club are the plug-in hybrid version of the Toyota Prius and its rival Honda Insight Hybrid. Conventional petrol cars will also be included, such as a BMW 318 and a Mini Cooper.

The fleet also includes a VW Caddy Maxi van and a Toyota Verso people carrier. The city council and Zipcar aim to give users access to more than 100 vehicles by September, and to approximately 400 vehicles by 2012, 30 percent which to be hybrid vehicles.

"As the world’s leading platform for evaluating alternative vehicle technologies, Zipcar is offering Westminster residents convenient and low-cost access to all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to encourage adoption of the most efficient and environmentally friendly cars on the planet,” said Scott Griffith, Chairman and CEO of Zipcar.

Members are charged on a "pay as you go" basis with hourly rates starting at £3.95 and daily rates at £29, including the congestion charge and an industry-leading 60 mile daily driving allowance. A number of concessions are also available including one hour's free parking, no congestion charge, and a low rate annual membership fee of £25. This sum is then reimbursed with the equivalent amount of car hire time.

Westminster Council has the largest on-street car recharging service in the UK with 14 dedicated charging points and plans to increase this number to 20 by the end of the year. There are an additional 48 charging points in the council's secure car parks.