Companies are being offered a Christmas bonus worth £20 of free driving credit if they sign up to Swindon Car Club before the holidays.
The club, set up by Swindon Borough Council and managed by national car club social enterprise Co-Wheels, is also trying to tempt corporate users with a free trial to see how the system could work for them.
It has four cars available and parked in dedicated bays in Princes Street, Prospect Place (Old Town), Northern Road and Wellington Street, (near the railway station).
Co-Wheels development worker Matt Whitney said: “We want to do whatever is possible to get companies on board so we’re also offering a half-price hourly rate once they book a car which, we believe, makes the scheme cheaper than running a pool car or booking taxis.
“As a social enterprise, all Co-Wheels profits are reinvested in the company.”
The convenient, pay-as-you-go driving scheme costs businesses a one-off annual fee of £25 plus VAT. Booking a car can easily be done in advance online and then is offered to companies at a special rate of £2.25 an hour – half the cost that an individual driver would have to pay.
Additional costs include a 21p per mile fee so, for example, booking a car to take staff on a 20-mile round-trip journey with them returning within three hours, would cost an employer a total of £8.70 including VAT.
“Our aim is to help companies get their staff from A to B while reducing their admin workload and corporate liability associated with paying staff to use their own cars,” said Mr Whitney. “That’s why we’re offering the £20 of free drive credit. We want managers to try it out and, if they decide it’s not for them, that’s fine.”
As an added attraction, Co-wheels is also waiving the £10 fee usually payable for companies to add extra drivers. This means the initial £25 join-up covers up to 100 drivers.
“The great thing is that Swindon companies can also use Co-wheels cars in Oxford, Reading and across the country too,” Mr Whitney added. “And we allow ‘free dual accounts’ so that staff who are signed up to use the scheme can also access the
cars for their own personal use – though they do have to pay the higher individual hourly rate of £4.50.”
- To take advantage of the offer, go to the corporate membership section of the www.Co-wheels.org.uk website and put SW12 in the promotion box, or email matt@co-wheels.org.uk
