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WhizzGo is a relatively simple concept: it's pay-by-the-hour (or half-hour) car rental. After a one-off sign-up fee of around £125, you're given a smart-card, which can be used to access a number of vehicles parked strategically around the city. The people at WhizzGo claim there's normally one within easy walking distance or bus journey of most people.
You gain access to the car by holding your smart-card against a special sensor in the window. Once inside, you have to enter a personal identification number to release the keys, which you'll find in the glove box. Then, you drive away.
Rental costs are about 4.95 an hour but there are a range of packages on offer to suit heavy or light usage and to cater for weekday and weekend use.
You don't even pay for petrol, so long as you drive less than 30 miles (60 miles with some value packages). And when the car needs filling up, WhizzGo pick up the bill for that too, thanks to a dedicated credit card (also found in the glove box).
In London, WhizzGo cars are exempt from the congestion charge, so if that ever comes to Leeds, as experts admit it might, it's likely they'll be exempt here too.
In fact, the people at WhizzGo appear to have thought of just about everything. They take care of the costs of the MoT, servicing, road tax and even offer fully comprehensive insurance.
There's a small microphone in the car too, which you can use to talk to a WhizzGo operative, say, for example, if you're running a little late and you need to extend your rental.
The scheme has won the backing of Leeds City Council and KW Linfoot Plc, who own Bridgewater Place and have given WhizzGo one of their coveted parking spaces, which normally sell for tens of thousands of pounds.
But hang on a minute, I hear you cry, surely this can't be convenient for everyone.
Well, it's not for everyone. It is for people who have already made a choice to be more environmentally friendly when it comes to travelling, who feel they need a second car as a run-around.
Daniella Richmond-Jowett, 26, is a property consultant who lives at Bridgewater Place during the week and Huddersfield on a weekend. She and her partner have just signed up to the WhizzGo scheme.
They already own a diesel Volkswagon Touareg. Her insurance costs are 1,600 a year, she pays the higher rate of road tax (300) and spends about 100 a week on fuel. She and her partner also paid 30,000 for a car parking space at Bridgewater Place – the going rate in Leeds.
She said: "I've just signed up to the WhizzGo scheme. It's great for working and living in Leeds. I love living in the city centre because everything is so convenient. It's just the lifestyle. I have a lot of friends here.
"Sometimes we need two cars and it's convenient to have them in the basement. We have one parking space with the apartment, but there's two of us. He might need to go see his friends, whereas I want to go see my family.
"It would cost me a lot more to buy a second car and run it. This is a far cheaper option for me."
Chris Hildreth, Construction Director at KW Linfoot Plc said: "We're delighted to offer this service to businesses and residents at Bridgewater Place. “Everyone knows that car parking is limited at city centre developments and our partnership with this eco-friendly car club means residents can have doorstep convenience and be environmentally conscientious.”
According to WhizzGo marketing executive Celine Gallerne, Leeds has thousands of signed-up members and more are joining all the time.
She said: “This scheme allows everyone to have a car in the city centre. As a company we were born in Leeds and this is where we have grown the fastest.
“For companies which traditionally use pool cars the advantage of our scheme is that they no longer have to maintain them, insure them, tax them and look after them. We do all that.
“For private individuals, the advantages are the same, plus for every journey there’s up to 60 free miles and even if you go over that, it’s only 20p a mile – most companies out there would work on 50p a mile.”
She added: “We would encourage people to use public transport and think about their journeys, because we are all about reducing congestion and emissions.”
WhizzGo reckon one of their cars can replace up to 20 private cars. At the moment, they have around 30 cars in Leeds, which would equate to 600 cars, using their formula.
They offer a range of cars, from the super-economic/environmentally friendly Citroen C1, C3 and C8 to the Picasso, spacious Berlingo van and electric-hybrid Prius.
neil.hudson@ypn.co.uk
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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