Our Car Club scheme will finish on October 3, when the current contract we have with our provider comes to an end.
While the scheme offers a low emission alternative in support of staff travel, it is no longer cost-effective.
A change in work styles and improved IT technology post COVID, for example the ability to hold meetings via MS Teams rather than travel to physical locations, has resulted in vehicles continuously being underutilised.
Staff who are agile workers may now be traveling from home to visits, appointments, meetings, and return to home rather that operating from their designated office location five days per week. Property rationalisation has also brought about co-location of services, further reducing the need for business travel.
It was agreed that the current and ongoing costs of the car club cannot be justified in the present financial climate and that the current contract is not extended and will naturally end on the contractual termination date of 3rd October 2025.
While removal of the car-club scheme will impact some services, the Transport Hub will work with individual teams to help review their circumstances and options to develop sustainable travel options to reflect their needs.
The two Council-owned electric vehicles currently utilised with the CarClub will be reallocated to our internal vehicle pool where services can book the use of these through the Hire Desk.
If these two cars are fully utilised then services can request spot hire vehicles which can be sourced through the existing SXL framework, where we can commit to only hiring vehicles which produce 99kg Co2 or below.
If you feel that you may be impacted with this decision, please discuss alternative transport arrangements with your line manager in the first instance.