Suffolk residents will be able to access electric vehicles on a short-term basis, from next summer

13th August 2024

A trial of electric community vehicles is set to launch next summer in Suffolk, with the tender process beginning this Autumn.

Plug In Suffolk Car Clubs will be placing sixteen electric vehicles across eight locations in Suffolk which local residents can book by the minute, hour or day. Planned locations include Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket, Sudbury, Needham Market, Stowmarket, Lowestoft and Woodbridge.

Members of the public interested in this project are urged to sign up to the mailing list to receive updates as the project progresses –  Plug in Suffolk Car Clubs – Mailing List (office.com)

Car Clubs have already offered people in other parts of the UK access to local, low-emission vehicles without the expense of owning one. Local communities in these areas have already experienced many benefits including improved air quality, reduced congestion and increased mobility for those without access to their own car.

Current providers remain reluctant to fully fund electric community vehicles in rural and semi-rural areas like Suffolk as they do not yet have the real-world data to support the usage.

The project is funded by Suffolk’s public sector organisations, helping deliver on two of the Suffolk Climate Emergency Plan’s goals; a reduced number of cars on the road and an increased proportion of vehicles on the road that are low or zero emission. Additional charge point funding is being provided by the Department for Transport’s On Street Residential ChargePoint Scheme (ORCS).

Councillor Neil MacDonald, Chair, Suffolk Public Sector Leaders, says:

“Suffolk residents have been asking about the possibility of bringing Car Clubs to Suffolk following the recent success of the Car Club trial in Oxfordshire, therefore I am looking forward to the launch of our trial.

“I am hoping that many individuals and families will benefit from the scheme and help to bring electric community vehicles permanently to our county.”

Collaborative Mobility UK (CoMoUK) reported:

‘We estimate that, in 2022, each car club vehicle in the UK replaced around 22 private cars.’ (CoMoUK Annual Car Club report 2022).