EasyGroup to take car-sharing idea on the road across the UK
EASYGROUP is rolling out its car-sharing project across the country, following a trial in London.
EasyCar, which has offered traditional rental cars since 2000, started work three years ago on a peer-to-peer car-sharing project in the city.
EasyCar Club now has hundreds of car owners and thousands of members borrowing their vehicles in the city, a spokesperson said yesterday. The firm aims to sign up 5,000 car-owners nationwide by the end of the year, and said London owners have made £1,800 a year on average by renting out their rides.
EasyGroup founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou acted as chief executive of the scheme until last year, when Richard Laughton was hired.
Car-sharing has boomed in London in recent years, with around 122,000 people signed up to use 2,270 cars through membership networks, according to a report compiled last summer for Carplus, which accredits car-sharing clubs.
But the idea of renting a neighbour’s car is yet to prove as popular in the rest of the country.