Nottingham City Council EV Car Club Community Engagement
Case Study
The Challenge
Nottingham City Council and Enterprise Car Club have an ambition to expand car club locations into lower income neighbourhoods traditionally not serviced by new shared mobility modes.
The aim of this project was to test whether deploying an electric car club vehicle without a dedicated parking bay or chargepoint was a viable solution for the car club provider, potential users and the local authority.
Cenex were enlisted to engage with the local community to increase membership and promote car club usage and implement their previous experiences of EV car clubs in lower income neighbourhoods.
The Development
The project applied behaviour change techniques to help the local authority and the car club provider understand the complex barriers and drivers that lead to modal shift, and how these elements should be considered when planning and implementing a low carbon transport solution.
We identified, engaged and encouraged community champions and local leaders (for example religious leaders, business owners, local councillors) to sign up to the scheme and hold education roadshows at local events and community hubs (with support from Enterprise Car Club).
Due to COVID-19 some activities have paused, and these will restart when safe to do so.
The Results
By working with influential representatives to foster ownership and anchor the car club into the community’s culture, Cenex increased interest in, and support for, the car club throughout the community.
The first car location was launched and showed excellent usage in the first few weeks.
In the second location knowledge of the car club grew and some potential local champions have been identified. Cenex facilitated the development of strong relationships between the stakeholders.
We found the local libraries to be a strong champion for the scheme and a key location as a community hub – with many groups and activities using the library facilities.
The project demonstrates the value of using community engagement as a tool for promoting modal shift and supporting alternative models of deployment for EV car clubs.