East Lothian Council launched an electric vehicle car club in August 2024, with vehicles supplied by Hiyacar, in partnership with Transport Scotland.
The 12 month pool car/car club pilot, funded by a successful application to the Switched on Towns and Cities fund, will enable East Lothian Council employees to access a car club vehicle for business use as part of their duties instead of their own private vehicle.
Led by mileage claim data analysis, availability of charging infrastructure across East Lothian, and projected demand from the general public, the council has identified five sites to host one car at each location.
As part of the pilot, the council would like to test making the cars available to members of the public to book during evenings, weekends and public holidays. The cars will be available to rent by the general public, upon quick and free app-based sign up. Driver licence verification is completed in minutes through the Hiyacar app, and cars can then be hired for as little as £4.50 per hour. Hiyacar will also provide info on operating the model of car being hired, so that drivers can be confident they will be able to drive safely. The council will receive revenue generated by trips undertaken at these times, with the car club operator receiving revenue from cars block-booked by the Council for staff use during core business hours.
