Whizzgo
Encyclopedia
WhizzGo is a United Kingdom
car sharing Car Club providing pay-by-the-hour cars in 12 cities. Pay-by-the-hour cars are provided for a small hourly price which includes insurance, tax, fuel, maintenance and the Congestion Charge
for London cars. WhizzGo advertises a cheaper, simpler and greener way to use a car whenever you want one. In 2007, WhizzGo won Best Leasing/rental company of the year and Private Sector Fleet of the year. in the GreenFleet awards. On 28th August 2009, WhizzGo was acquired by City Car Club creating the UK's largest network of hourly rental cars.
Through its expansion, WhizzGo has partnered with Virgin Trains, public transport operators (such as Metro West Yorkshire and Stagecoach in Manchester)and Dahon foldable bikes.
WhizzGo has also developed through partnerships with several city councils nationwide such as Leeds, Sheffield, York, Liverpool, Southampton and St Albans. The company also works alongside travel planners and town planners in order to complement existing public transport networks.
The strategic acquisition marked the first major consolidation within the UK car club industry and secured City Car Club's leading position - with 500 cars in 15 cities and a membership base of 16,000.
City Car Club now has operations in London, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield, York, Edinburgh, Brighton, Bristol, Bath, Huddersfield, Norwich, Birmingham, and Southampton, with plans to expand into more cities.
"Unfortunately, our City Car Club cars in St Albans fall into this category. Since WhizzGo launched, it was unable to attract enough members to make the service financially viable and the tough market conditions now mean we are unable to sustain our operations in the city. We have tried to make arrangements for another car club to take over our operation in St Albans but unfortunately this has not come to fruition."
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
car sharing Car Club providing pay-by-the-hour cars in 12 cities. Pay-by-the-hour cars are provided for a small hourly price which includes insurance, tax, fuel, maintenance and the Congestion Charge
London congestion charge
The London congestion charge is a fee charged for some categories of motor vehicle to travel at certain times within the Congestion Charge Zone , a traffic area in London. The charge aims to reduce congestion, and raise investment funds for London's transport system...
for London cars. WhizzGo advertises a cheaper, simpler and greener way to use a car whenever you want one. In 2007, WhizzGo won Best Leasing/rental company of the year and Private Sector Fleet of the year. in the GreenFleet awards. On 28th August 2009, WhizzGo was acquired by City Car Club creating the UK's largest network of hourly rental cars.
The concept
WhizzGo provides a city-wide fleet of low emission cars that are located in designated on-street bays across city centres. WhizzGo is committed to offering an environmentally sustainable service, reducing pollution and congestion by:- Using Citroën cars, chosen for their low carbon emissions. Citroën won the Greenest Manufacturer of the year award, 2007 for the second years in a row.
- Encouraging sustainable transport options and so members take fewer car trips and walk, cycle or use public transport more.
- Educating members on green driving tips
- Taking cars off the road. Research from Carplus, the charity which promotes responsible car use estimates one car club car takes up to 20 private cars off the road.Carplus
- Exploring alternative technologies to keep emissions low; including LPG, Biodiesel, Petrol/Electric Hybrid vehicles and Stop-Start technology.
- Carbon offsetting
Through its expansion, WhizzGo has partnered with Virgin Trains, public transport operators (such as Metro West Yorkshire and Stagecoach in Manchester)and Dahon foldable bikes.
WhizzGo has also developed through partnerships with several city councils nationwide such as Leeds, Sheffield, York, Liverpool, Southampton and St Albans. The company also works alongside travel planners and town planners in order to complement existing public transport networks.
The technology
WhizzGo members are issued with a WhizzGo smart card which is held against a sensor in the windscreen of the vehicle to unlock the doors. Members enter their 4 digit PIN into the on-board computer, take the keys from the glove compartment and drive off.WhizzGo membership
Members pay a monthly membership fee of £5 and then can pay-as-they-go by the hour or day.Acquisition by City Car Club
On 28th August 2009, WhizzGo was acquired by City Car Club creating the UK's largest network of hourly rental cars.The strategic acquisition marked the first major consolidation within the UK car club industry and secured City Car Club's leading position - with 500 cars in 15 cities and a membership base of 16,000.
City Car Club now has operations in London, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield, York, Edinburgh, Brighton, Bristol, Bath, Huddersfield, Norwich, Birmingham, and Southampton, with plans to expand into more cities.
Closure Of Some Sites
In November 2009, Whizzgo announced it would be closing some locations; For example, about the closure of the St Albans location, Keith Kelly of City Car Club said to the St Albans And Harpenden review: “In the majority of our locations, our cars are very popular and highly successful. However, in a minority of the former WhizzGo locations the take-up and utilisation of the service has fallen well below expectations."Unfortunately, our City Car Club cars in St Albans fall into this category. Since WhizzGo launched, it was unable to attract enough members to make the service financially viable and the tough market conditions now mean we are unable to sustain our operations in the city. We have tried to make arrangements for another car club to take over our operation in St Albans but unfortunately this has not come to fruition."