East Oxford residents reinvent neighbourhood car sharing
The Oxford Mail has reported today that a group of Oxford residents are successfully starting to revolutionise neighbourhood car sharing.
The movement began during the summer of 2021. Using a platform called 'Hiya Car' the group of Iffley Fields residents have been able to both advertise locally available vehicles for hire, and locate and secure cars for use. The app takes care of all insurance, licensing and identity administration making the process on both sides easy and effective. Membership applications are accepted only from residents within a pre selected local vicinity or 'closed loop'. Residents have commented already on the sense of community the scheme is starting to create.
Several Iffley Fields residents are also reported to have given up their cars which, since the introduction of the scheme, have proven surplus. Alongside the obvious cost saving benefits the residents hopes in the longer term are that the scheme might lead to a reduction in the number of cars parked on narrow local streets, and will also contribute to a wider reduction in local traffic and environmental pollution.
The climate emergency is encouraging many to re-evaluate their lifestyle. For city dwellers a local, environmentally friendly and convenient alternative to car ownership could quickly become a top priority, and schemes like 'Hiya Car' might just be the answer to freeing up Oxford's car crowded streets.
www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/19665418.residents-set-hiya-car-sharing-scheme-help-tackle-traffic