Point-to-point clubs won't tackle congestion, says Lester-Davis

Car clubs have a vital part to play in reducing car ownership, believes Nick Lester-Davis, corporate director of services at London Councils. He is optimistic about the future of car clubs in London despite the withdrawal from the UK of point-to-point car club operator car2go last year. At the time the firm said an entrenched culture of private car ownership had influenced its decision. 

Lester-Davis has reservations about point-to-point car clubs, preferring the “conventional car club” model where users return the car to a dedicated bay.

“There is a lot of very good evidence that shows that the conventional car club really does have an impact on car ownership in places where there is not the space for everyone who wants a car to keep it,” he says. “The conventional car club works well for leisure trips, weekend trips, evening trips where you are going out from and back to your home.”

These sort of trips are also carried out in point-to-point club cars, but they are more likely to be used for commuting trips, Lester-Davis observes. “This means we wouldn’t see the modal transfer from car journeys to walking, cycling and public transport.”

Car clubs should not contribute to additional congestion or pollution, he says. “Offering a fleet of electric cars tackles the air quality issue but not traffic levels. There is a danger that all it would do is transfer peak hour trips from public transport to the car. ”

London Councils is keen to encourage more use of car clubs in the capital. “There has to be a lot more integration of car clubs generally – they should be more transparent on TfL’s journey planners, and we should integrate payment with Oyster cards.

“I suppose it’s partly because car clubs started as a niche activity, but they have grown and we now have the biggest car club activity in Europe and the second biggest in the world after the car club at Manhattan which, like London, hasn’t got space for all the cars that people want to own so they have to do everything they can to encourage the alternatives.”