Streetcar Set to Electrify
Car club introduces Europe’s first plug-in electric car. From next week, Streetcar, the UK’s largest car club, is giving the general public the chance to drive one of Europe’s first plug-in electric hybrid cars.
London, United Kingdom, June 18, 2009 --(PR.com)-- The UK’s largest car club is going electric.
From next week, Streetcar is giving the general public the chance to drive one of Europe’s first plug-in electric hybrid cars.
In a joint initiative with Camden Council and Transport for London (TfL), the Amberjac conversion Prius (one of only 25 such cars in the world) will be added to Streetcar’s fleet of 1,200 pay-as you-go vehicles.
It will be operated from Camden’s Bloomsbury Car Park in Holborn.
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “Car clubs are a great way to be green and it’s even better news that Londoners will be able to use a cleaner car to make their trips. I want London to be at the forefront of the electric car revolution and initiatives such as this are an important stepping stone along the way.”
The car has a revolutionary plug-in facility, allowing its battery to be charged from a domestic outlet (preferably with renewable energy) or an on-street electric charging point. It has an electric only range of around 35 miles1 and with the majority of car club trips being under this mileage, Streetcar has estimated that over 66% of journeys in the car will release zero exhaust emissions. This will benefit local air quality.
Announcing this motoring first, Brett Akker, Streetcar’s co-founder, said: “Our 55,000 members are expected to rise to 250,000 by 2012, as more and more people recognise the environmental and cost benefits of joining a car club. Once they have made that decision, we want to offer them the best possible service – and, from next week, our members will be the first people in Europe to hire a car with this electric technology.”
Cllr, Chris Knight, Camden Council’s Executive Member for the Environment, said: “Camden Council is charged up about electric cars and the introduction of Europe’s first electric car club. More people sharing mean fewer cars on the road so less congestion and pollution – and that’s great news for the environment. Also as the credit crunch bites, the message is hitting home that using car clubs instead of owning a vehicle can bring big savings.”
The advantage of the plug-in hybrid over a pure electric car is versatility. Where an electric vehicle would simply run out of charge if a Streetcar member couldn’t recharge it; the plug-in simply switches to the regular combustion engine. This means it is suitable for short city driving and for longer trips.
And even when it does go beyond its electric only capacity, it still makes huge energy savings. At speeds of 50 to 60 mph, an average of over 100 mpg is possible as the plug-in uses stored electric energy from the battery system.
By comparison a standard hybrid has an electric only range of 1-2 miles before the conventional engine cuts in. It uses a battery working with the conventional engine to deliver only small efficiency at low speeds with the battery being recharged by the engine itself.
Regular Streetcar user, Philip Day, said: “ I have read so much about electric cars and am delighted that Streetcar will now give me the chance to actually try one out. It must be the way forward for motoring”.
With every Streetcar vehicles being used by 45 different drivers, this plug-in vehicle is the first super low-emission car to viably remove privately owned vehicles off the road.
Contact Louise Evans, Streetcar PR, on 07891 242476
Contact Camden Council’s press office on 020 7974 5717 or pressoffice@camden.gov.uk
Notes to Editor
1. The Plug-in Prius conversion is rated as one of the greenest cars available across all metrics (MPG of more than 100, low Co2, low cost/mile)
2 Each car has an average of 45 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.
3. According to the RAC’s annual research, the cost of owning a car has rocketed by 19% since last year, with the average family spending £2435 to keep their vehicle on the road. Additional costs such as finance, insurance and depreciation bring this figure to £6133*. Car owners typically save over £2,000 per year after joining Streetcar. *(Source: http://www.rac.co.uk/web/know-how/motoring-news/article.cgi?id=A275687121222855017A&topic=genaral +motoring)
4.Transport for London’s financial support for this project is part of a £1m investment package to support the growth of car clubs across London over the next two years. This will bring around a third of London residents within just a five minute walk of a car club vehicle, enabling cleaner, greener travel across the Capital.
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From next week, Streetcar is giving the general public the chance to drive one of Europe’s first plug-in electric hybrid cars.
In a joint initiative with Camden Council and Transport for London (TfL), the Amberjac conversion Prius (one of only 25 such cars in the world) will be added to Streetcar’s fleet of 1,200 pay-as you-go vehicles.
It will be operated from Camden’s Bloomsbury Car Park in Holborn.
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “Car clubs are a great way to be green and it’s even better news that Londoners will be able to use a cleaner car to make their trips. I want London to be at the forefront of the electric car revolution and initiatives such as this are an important stepping stone along the way.”
The car has a revolutionary plug-in facility, allowing its battery to be charged from a domestic outlet (preferably with renewable energy) or an on-street electric charging point. It has an electric only range of around 35 miles1 and with the majority of car club trips being under this mileage, Streetcar has estimated that over 66% of journeys in the car will release zero exhaust emissions. This will benefit local air quality.
Announcing this motoring first, Brett Akker, Streetcar’s co-founder, said: “Our 55,000 members are expected to rise to 250,000 by 2012, as more and more people recognise the environmental and cost benefits of joining a car club. Once they have made that decision, we want to offer them the best possible service – and, from next week, our members will be the first people in Europe to hire a car with this electric technology.”
Cllr, Chris Knight, Camden Council’s Executive Member for the Environment, said: “Camden Council is charged up about electric cars and the introduction of Europe’s first electric car club. More people sharing mean fewer cars on the road so less congestion and pollution – and that’s great news for the environment. Also as the credit crunch bites, the message is hitting home that using car clubs instead of owning a vehicle can bring big savings.”
The advantage of the plug-in hybrid over a pure electric car is versatility. Where an electric vehicle would simply run out of charge if a Streetcar member couldn’t recharge it; the plug-in simply switches to the regular combustion engine. This means it is suitable for short city driving and for longer trips.
And even when it does go beyond its electric only capacity, it still makes huge energy savings. At speeds of 50 to 60 mph, an average of over 100 mpg is possible as the plug-in uses stored electric energy from the battery system.
By comparison a standard hybrid has an electric only range of 1-2 miles before the conventional engine cuts in. It uses a battery working with the conventional engine to deliver only small efficiency at low speeds with the battery being recharged by the engine itself.
Regular Streetcar user, Philip Day, said: “ I have read so much about electric cars and am delighted that Streetcar will now give me the chance to actually try one out. It must be the way forward for motoring”.
With every Streetcar vehicles being used by 45 different drivers, this plug-in vehicle is the first super low-emission car to viably remove privately owned vehicles off the road.
Contact Louise Evans, Streetcar PR, on 07891 242476
Contact Camden Council’s press office on 020 7974 5717 or pressoffice@camden.gov.uk
Notes to Editor
1. The Plug-in Prius conversion is rated as one of the greenest cars available across all metrics (MPG of more than 100, low Co2, low cost/mile)
2 Each car has an average of 45 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.
3. According to the RAC’s annual research, the cost of owning a car has rocketed by 19% since last year, with the average family spending £2435 to keep their vehicle on the road. Additional costs such as finance, insurance and depreciation bring this figure to £6133*. Car owners typically save over £2,000 per year after joining Streetcar. *(Source: http://www.rac.co.uk/web/know-how/motoring-news/article.cgi?id=A275687121222855017A&topic=genaral +motoring)
4.Transport for London’s financial support for this project is part of a £1m investment package to support the growth of car clubs across London over the next two years. This will bring around a third of London residents within just a five minute walk of a car club vehicle, enabling cleaner, greener travel across the Capital.
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