Building Industry drives down costs with Streetcar
 
The building industry has become one of the fastest to adopt the car club concept, according to new figures from Streetcar for Business, the UK’s largest pay as you go car hire service dedicated to the corporate community. 
 
Part of the highly successful Streetcar brand, the corporate scheme offers a diverse fleet of BMWs, VW Golfs, Polos and Transporter vans and has seen membership soar from 900 to almost 2100 in the last year as organisations choose the service as an alternative to managing their own fleet or using private hire vehicles. 
 
In particular, the number of members from the building sector has almost trebled in a year as many search for a way to cut costs through the recession. 
 
Commenting on the sector-specific rise, Brett Akker, Streetcar’s co-founder, said: “It’s clear that the current economic climate has forced many building sector companies to review their cost base and look for innovative ways to reduce outlay. Streetcar gives companies flexible and immediate access to a range of new vehicles, cutting out the admin and maintenance overheads associated with running their own fleet and affording them significant savings.” 
 
Streetcar offers businesses 24/7 access to vehicles on an hourly basis from as little as £4.21 per hour. As well as the cost savings1, corporate use of car clubs has been shown to help companies cut their carbon footprint2, as well as reduce administration and the risks associated with in-house fleet maintenance and safety.
 
Dan Davidson, Managing Director of Build Team said: "We have found Streetcar to be an extremely effective transport option. We are able to scale our operations up or down very quickly without the need for investing in a permanent fleet – this represents huge cost savings for us.  Since bookings can be as short as half an hour, it has also allowed us to put our sustainability policy into practice by booking vehicles only when we need them.”
 
In the residential community, Streetcar has become an increasingly popular alternative to traditional car ownership. Consumer membership has more than doubled in just over 12 months to over 75,000 and is expected to rise to 250,000 by 20123. The scheme boasts over 1000 locations across seven cities; London, Brighton, Cambridge, Southampton, Guildford, Maidstone and Oxford. The company is planning to launch in Bristol in March.
 
www.streetcarforbusiness.com