A CAR-SHARE club which aims to cut the number of vehicles on Oxford’s streets is set to expand.

The Streetcar club, which launched in Oxford two years ago, has four cars dotted around the city for members to use whenever they need them.

Now managers have revealed another 20 vehicles will be on the road in the city from next month, after more than 250 people signed up to take part in the scheme.

Areas to benefit from the new fleet include Summertown, North Oxford, Jericho, the city centre and Cowley Road.

Sarah-Jane Yorke, Streetcar’s out-of-London operations manager, said: “We’ve already found our 20 locations and it will be a full service fleet, including a van, seven-seater people carrier, BMWs and Volkswagens.

“Our cars live in on-street bays, people’s driveways and community centre car parks, anywhere people can access them easily.”

“Oxfordshire County Council has given us on-street bays across the city.”

Drivers pay £59.50 to join the self-service, pay-as-you-go club for a year and anything between £4.95 and £8.95 an hour to borrow the car for anything from half an hour to six months.

Miss Yorke could not confirm the exact locations of the new cars.

She said that for people who needed a car just a few times a week, the annual cost of Streetcar was much less than owning a car.

At the moment, the city’s four cars are based at West Oxford Community Centre and Harley Road, both off Botley Road, and at St Margaret’s Road, Summertown, and William Lucy Way, in Jericho.

Miss Yorke said the expansion was due to growing support from members in Oxford keen to explore greener transport methods.

She said: “Our membership has grown 150 per cent in Oxford and we’ve had constant demand for more cars and locations.

“We’ve now got more than 250 members in the city. Streetcar is used for things like the weekly supermarket shop or weekend trips away and we work closely with businesses, who can use them during the working week, rather than having pool cars.”

Moe Scholl, 57, of Greater Leys, gave up her 4x4 last year to become a Streetcar member.

She said: “With Streetcar I don’t have to worry about tax or insurance and garage bills.

“That’s what I like about it the most.

“I use the bus, the bike and I walk. I use the Streetcar if I want to give someone a lift or go somewhere that the bus doesn’t go to.”

Annabel Dunstan lives with her family of four on Osney Island, and has been a Streetcar member since giving up her car in March 2008.

She said: “We use it about twice a month, sometimes three times.

“We’re quite organised about booking it.

“Having more cars in the city will make the spontaneity come more easily.”