Loop PR: Streetcar Expansion Plans to Include BMW
LONDON, United Kingdom--www.streetcar.co.uk, the UK's largest car club, has announced it is to almost double its fleet within nine months, and add several new vehicle types to the scheme.
“I am delighted that Streetcar is introducing BMW to its range. Driving a luxury car will make our trips an even more pleasant and enjoyable experience. Streetcar has just become an even more attractive alternative to owning a car in the City.”
From January 2010, Streetcar will add the BMW 1 and 3 Series 1 to its existing fleet of VW Polos, Golfs, Tourans and Transporter Vans, increasing the number of vehicles from 1100 to just under 2000 by September 2010.
As Brett Akker, Streetcar's co-founder explains: "These moves are
part
of our radical expansion plans for 2010 and will create a more
dynamic
service to suit our increasingly diverse customer base. Now we have
something to suit every occasion, budget and member; from the student
to
the city professional to the business opting to replace their pool
car
scheme with a more cost-effective alternative.
We believe our
growth will enable more and more people to consider giving up a car,
a
trend which we’ve already seen increasing dramatically over the past
six
years."
Streetcar has become an increasingly popular alternative for those
who
need occasional use of a vehicle. Membership has more than doubled in
just over 12 months to 75,000 and is expected to rise to 250,000 by
2012. The scheme boasts over 1000 locations across seven cities;
London,
Brighton, Cambridge, Southampton, Guildford, Maidstone and, most
recently, Oxford. The number of locations is to increase to 2,000
during
the course of 2010.
Jesse Koti, who regularly uses Streetcar, said: "I am delighted that Streetcar is introducing BMW to its range. Driving a luxury car will make our trips an even more pleasant and enjoyable experience. Streetcar has just become an even more attractive alternative to owning a car in the City."
The new BMW models will be available 24/7 for rent by the hour, day, week or month. Members will be able to reserve a car online (www.streetcar.co.uk) or over the phone, as little as 30 minutes in advance, and use remotely activated smartcards to unlock the vehicle.
-Ends-
1. BMW has the lowest average CO2 emissions of any premium car manufacturer for the second year in a row according to new independent research. Courtesy of its award-winning EfficientDynamics programme, BMW records a UK fleet average of 159.4g/km based on all BMWs sold in 2008.
2. By using Streetcar vehicles for staff business travel, organisations can make significant savings against running their own fleet. Streetcar is the business travel option for over 2000 businesses including Surrey County Council who saw a cost reduction of 26% per mile driven with Streetcar compared to their previous car pool costs.
3. Independent research conducted by Transport for London shows that each car club vehicle on the road replaces an average of 26 privately-owned cars. This is because each car has an average of 40 users and, of those, over half chose not to buy (or replace) a car when they join the club. Streetcar has already taken over 20,000 privately-owned cars off the UK's streets and is aiming to prevent the emission of around 50,000 tonnes of CO2 over the next two years.
• The cost of hiring the BMW 1 Series is: 1 hour - £6.95 24 hours - £69.50
• The cost of hiring the BMW 3 Series is: 1 hour - £8.95 24 hours - £89.50
• Case studies are available on request.
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