About Moray Carshare (formerly Park Carpool)
Moray Carshare is a community-based car club. There are currently over 45 members of the club, and we share 9 cars amongst us. The cars are placed at 3 different locations in and around Findhorn and Forres in the IV36 post code area of Morayshire in the north-east of Scotland. The carpool is run in a democratic way, like a community interest company, using a methodology called Sociocracy (http://www.governancealive.com).
The aims of our car club are to provide appropriate and affordable transport for its members. And to do so in a way that minimises negative impact on the environment. The carpool is also an example of how human beings can create a sense of community and fun by sharing resources in a way that benefits all.
Anyone living in the local area with an appropriate driving license is eligible to join. The benefits to members are that they save money compared with buying their own car. Although for some members the main benefit is actually that they get convenient access to a car that they could not afford on their own. Other benefits include:
- reduced use of cars: increased awareness of the cost (financial and environmental) of using a car creates more conscious choices of the most appropriate transport method for a particular trip, and thereby reduces our ecological footprint.
- reduce green house gas emissions and air pollution by using more eco-friendly vehicles.
- variety of vehicles: members can pick the car that is most suitable for the trip in question – currently we have a range of small (fuel economic) cars, an estate car (good for transporting), a car with a large engine and a tow hitch.
- the creation of community jobs (2 people are employed part-time to maintain and manage the carpool);
- more free time: members are free of the administration, upkeep and responsibility of owning a car;
- reduce the number of cars in our local community, and thereby create a safer, more beautiful living environment.
The car club is run using simple technology. Members fill in a trip sheet at the end of each journey, and pay for the use of the cars according to how many miles they travel and how many hours they use the cars. Full members also pay a monthly subscription, while associate members do not. Bookings are made via the internet using an online booking system (see http://booking.carpool.findhorn.cc). A specially designed computer system is used to type in the data from the trip sheets and produce monthly bills that are emailed to members.
Park Carpool was founded in October 2007 with 15 members and 3 cars. We were inspired by the Woodhead Community carpool. We have made a small financial surplus most years, which has been reinvested in the car club. We have recently received government funding from Transport Scotland to buy 2 electric cars. Community car clubs are an ideal way to introduce electric cars, as they can be used for shorter journeys, while petrol or diesel cars can still be used for longer journeys.
Our constitution, operational agreement and tariffs can be found here on the homepage of our website (www.moraycarshare.com), near the bottom of the page. These create clear rules and boundaries that help create a sense of trust.
More Information
For more information on car clubs in general see http://www.carplus.org.uk/. For more information on Park Carpool, contact the manager:
Gordon McAlpine,
4 Heathneuk, Findhorn, Moray, IV36 3WN;
tel. 01309 691 934; Email:
For more information on Moray Carshare and related documents please see http://carpool.findhorn.cc/
