Car share schemes driving force for eco-city status

Recent information shows the capital’s car share schemes are proving to be popular in Wellington – and with the planet.

Wellington City Council’s car share policies are designed to encourage the use of car-sharing as a flexible, low carbon option that sits alongside public transport modes. With more than 7200 Wellingtonians belonging to car-sharing schemes, car sharing is fast becoming the new normal for Wellington.

Data from 2019/20 provided by Wellington’s two car-sharing providers, MEVO and Cityhop, shows that across the two schemes, one car-share vehicle now replaces 11 private vehicles, there has been a 170% increase in membership, almost 50,000 trips taken, and 70,000kg of CO2 from car-share trips has been offset.

Car sharing is a type of car rental but is geared toward people who want to use a car for brief periods of time and only pay for their usage. The cars are generally newer model, low-emissions vehicles, and some companies even offset all fuel emissions produced, a trend pioneered by MEVO.

As electric chargers become more integrated into the city, it’s expected that Wellington’s two car-share providers will employ more electric cars too.

Global data shows car share schemes help reduce parking congestion, support the use of public and active transport, and they also fit with Council’s aims to make Wellington a sustainable eco-city, says Sustainability Manager Tom Pettit.

“The Council has around 30 car parks across the city specifically for car-share vehicles which helps reduce the need to own a car – or at the very least, to not bring their car into the CBD. With the 90 or so car share vehicles in circulation, the options are there for Wellingtonians."