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14
Aug
Electric car hire scheme dropped in Knaresborough and Ripon
Residents will no longer be able to hire an electric car in Knaresborough or Ripon after the company operating the scheme said it was not being used enough.
Co-Wheels Car Club launched in the Harrogate district in 2020 with a £28,000 grant from Harrogate Borough Council.
The council partnered on the scheme and hoped it would give people the confidence to reduce the number of cars in their households whilst improving air quality.
The car club is still running in Harrogate and “performing well”, according to a council spokesperson, with the Co-Wheels website stating there were four vehicles available for hire at the time of publication.
Insurance is included, and you can book a car for as little as 30 minutes to days at a time, only paying for the hire time and distance you drive.
However, the spokesperson added the council is no longer involved with the running of the scheme after a contract came to an end last month.
Cllr Hannah Gostlow (Liberal Democrat, Knaresborough East) said she tried to book an electric car for a family journey in Knaresborough but was disappointed to find out there were none available.
She later learned that the scheme had been quietly dropped in the town.
Cllr Gostlow told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she was not consulted about the changes.
She said:
I feel we were lucky to have this accessible car sharing scheme, especially as it was an electric vehicle, and could have been a useful resource to those residents unable to afford the purchase of a car, or that don’t have parking.
There was the potential to form a green ‘mobility hub’, with seamless switching between different forms of active travel and public transport, being close to our bus station. I am really disappointed that I wasn’t consulted as a local councillor.
Karl Battersby, the council’s corporate director of environment, said:
The Harrogate car club is still running and performing well. However, Co-wheels took the decision to remove the cars in Ripon and Knaresborough due to a lack of use. Our contract with Co-wheels has expired so we are no longer involved in the running or funding of the scheme.
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