An electric car sharing program across South Somerset could be viable, the local council said.
South Somerset County Council is in the early stages of exploring the possibility of launching a new project where residents would share electric vehicles after saying “encouraging” results from a recent survey of local residents.
The local authority rolled out three fast chargers in three of their parking lots near the A303 last year, but said in a statement that any potential car sharing program would have to include many more charging points.
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A council statement said: “Existing e-car and bike sharing initiatives across the UK are already proving successful and we wanted to see if this was another great way to provide our communities with cleaner air, to reduce carbon emissions and to increase the stock economy.
“Joint electric car and bicycle programs save drivers money, reduce traffic jams and reduce pollution.
“They are also helping to reduce car ownership as many EV / E-bike sharing program members find that simply renting an EV is much cheaper and greener than owning one they rarely need.
“Some electric car sharing programs include the charging infrastructure and hopefully the next step in the county’s EV charging strategy will begin with identifying suitable street charging installations to support community access to electric vehicles.”
The community survey of residents and companies in cooperation with Co-Cars, a car rental company in the southwest, was completed by 192 people.
A statement by the local council said: “On a scale of one to ten (one for no interest, 10 for extremely interested), the average score was 7.7 when respondents said they participated in such a program, with one score out of 6.6 agrees with Vision that the electric car club should be locally owned and community supported.
“Overall, 60 percent said they would use the program for shopping, errands, and day trips.
“Over 20 percent said they could imagine using the service several times a week, and nearly 30 percent thought they would book an electric car or bike at least once a week.
“81 people said they thought this program might allow them not to buy or own a car, and 70 people were interested in an electric bike program, with another 48 saying they could be.
“Based on these results, it may be possible to try an electric car and bike sharing scheme in South Somerset, which may be contingent on street charging coming into residential areas.”
Councilor Sarah Dyke, portfolio owner of the South Somerset District Council for the Environment, added, “The results of the EV sharing survey are very encouraging and will be invaluable in creating local EV sharing programs.
“We are committed to being climate neutral by 2030, and finding solutions for accessible, sustainable transport will play a major role in this.”
All residents who failed to take the survey and want to add their views were asked to email ssdcenvironment@southsomerset.gov.uk.
