A CLUB aimed at getting little-used cars off the streets has been launched in Headington in the wake of other successful Oxford schemes.

People who sign up will be able to rent cars for as little as an hour.

Organisers hope the lack of overheads like insurance, road tax and repairs will persuade motorists who rarely use their cars to ditch them.

Car club member Julie Meikle said: “People who don’t currently have a car but occasionally need one, or those who have a car but only drive it occasionally, can now enjoy a quality car for affordable rates, without the worry of tax, insurance, maintenance or parking permits.”

The first car, a Volkswagen Polo, was delivered to the club by not-for-profit car club operator Commonwheels and is now available to be hired from £4 per hour.

It was launched at the Headington Festival on Sunday and is parked in Kennett Road.

The Smart Card technology which operates the car was demonstrated to people interested in signing up, including Oxford Lord Mayor and Headington resident Mary Clarkson.

Mrs Meikle said the club would also soon be taking over a car owned by one of its members and was fundraising for a third.

So far, 90 people have expressed an interest in joining and six have fully signed up.

Mrs Meikle and her husband Ian, who have two small children, currently run two cars, with Mr Meikle using his most days for work and the second vehicle just used occasionally, for example to take the children swimming.

Mrs Meikle said: “I am considering getting rid of my car because for a lot of the time it is parked outside the house.

“For a lot of people this is the perfect solution – a car you can use whenever you want at a reasonable cost.

“And it will take cars off the streets.”

The group aims eventually to have cars parked within a five to 10 minute walk of most people’s homes in Headington.

It follows on from a group set up in East Oxford last November, which already has more than 150 members.

For details, see commonwheels.org.uk or call 0845 4786396.

A CAR-SHARE club aimed at cutting down the number of vehicles on the streets of North and West Oxford has clocked up almost 200 members.

The Streetcar car club, which has five Volkswagen Golfs spread across four locations in the city, started last November with just 40 members.

The scheme has proved so popular, club bosses are thinking of adding more cars and more locations to cope with demand.

Annabel Dunstan, who lives with her family of four on Osney Island, estimates she will save about £1,000 a year by joining up.

She calculated the family spent about £2,200 on tax, insurance, MOT and repairs on their Renault Megane every year but now they only spend about £100 a month on the car share scheme.

Ms Dunstan, a 43-year-old public relations consultant living in East Street, said her family only used the car about once or twice a week for journeys outside Oxfordshire or for trips not well served by public transport.

She said: “This is the way of the future. Our environmental impact is now less.

“It is no longer so tempting to hop in your car every time you leave your home, and we also haven’t got a depreciating hulk of rust sitting out on the street. It just feels like a solid community thing to do that reduces congestion and the car parking issues around West Oxford.

“The Botley Road should be empty, we should be cycling and walking and then using the Streetcar for occasional journeys.

“It’s just a brilliant system.”

Drivers pay £59.50 to join the club for a year, then a rental of £6 an hour, £49.50 for a day or £195 for a week.

Lois Muddiman, a founder member of Low Carbon West Oxford, which is supporting the scheme, said: “We have three families who have given up their main car or their second car and rely on the pool car.”

Streetcar spokesman Louise Evans said: “We identified Oxford as a potentially strong car club city in early 2008. Six months down the line, we have seen enough to confirm that – and we will be adding more locations.”