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A "green" car-hire scheme launched in Auckland yesterday with an aim of getting private cars off the road has won top political support despite initial scepticism.
Prime Minister Helen Clark admitted to feeling wary when asked to launch the Cityhop car-share scheme, which will be run as a club for members to hire vehicles by the hour, after unlocking them with special swipe cards.
"I was quite fascinated by it because it seemed to be totally counter-intuitive," she said, before unlocking one of the scheme's first five Daihatsu Sirion cars by swiping a card over the outside of the windscreen and then getting behind the wheel.
She noted a novel approach to her by Cityhop chief executive Victoria Carter, a former Auckland City councillor who has formed a joint venture with national vehicle-hire company Jucy Rentals to run the new scheme.
"Her pitch was, Helen, have I got a deal for you - I want you to launch a car rental firm that's going to get cars off the road," the Prime Minister said.
"Well actually, it does work, and it's a car-hire service whose very existence could encourage people not to have a car at all."
She believed it would persuade more people to leave their own vehicles at home and travel to work by public transport, knowing they could always hire a car if they needed to rush away on some errand during the day, such as visiting an ill relative or collecting a child from kindergarten.
Ms Carter said that although it was this country's first formalised car-share scheme, which she hoped to extend soon to Wellington, the idea had taken off in such "world-class"cities as New York, London, Melbourne and Sydney.
An American scheme called Zipcar, with 3000 vehicles in 23 cities, claimed credit for taking 32,000 private cars off the road over the past seven years in which 40 per cent of its members had decided against buying or keeping their own cars.
"We're not saying get rid of your car, but perhaps there's a better way to get to work, and when you need a car - Cityhop," Ms Carter said.
Although the scheme is starting small, Jucy Rentals chief executive Tim Alpe said that as it took off, more vehicles could be added at short notice from his company's 400-strong Auckland fleet.
He admitted that such a large fleet "obviously generates a lot of carbon", but said Cityhop's 1.3-litre Daihatsu cars had been chosen for their high fuel efficiency and low emissions, "so this is one way of giving a bit back".
Spaces at three Auckland City Council parking buildings and at two privately-owned sites have been leased to start with.
Although these are all in central Auckland, Ms Carter said she was negotiating with Newmarket businesses keen for ready access to cars in their neighbourhood.
Scheme participants will pay an annual subscription of up to $85, and a monthly administration fee of $12, which will entitle them to an hour's free driving. After that they will pay an hourly hire rate of $12, which will cover petrol and all other costs.
But in line with the "club" concept, members will be expected to return cars in tidy conditions and to ensure their fuel tanks are more than a quarter full, at the risk of being fined $50.
Auckland City Mayor Dick Hubbard said the scheme was "exactly the sort of initiative we are looking for and a step on our path to making Auckland a more sustainable city."
