Streetcar (carsharing)
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| Corporation | |
| Industry | Car rental |
| Fate | Acquired by Zipcar in 2010 |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Defunct | 2010 |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
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Key people
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Brett Akker, Andrew Valentine |
| Services | Car sharing |
| Website | www |
Streetcar was the largest carsharing/car club company in the United Kingdom, established in 2004, which merged with the American company Zipcar in 2010, following a period of investment by Smedvig Capital.
Streetcar vehicles were parked in a dense network of dedicated spaces primarily in London, but also across a total of 10 UK cities including Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Oxford, Guildford, Maidstone and Southampton. Members could book vehicles from 30 minutes up to six months, online or by phone. A smartcard was used to pick up and return the car at any time of the day or night, 365 days a year.
Durham University friends Brett Akker and Andrew Valentine founded Streetcar in April 2004 after seeing its commercial success in Europe and North America. They started with 8 cars in locations near Clapham Junction station, and much of the growth since inception has occurred organically through word-of-mouth recommendations. In March 2007, Streetcar took on £6.4m from Smedvig Capital - an investment which saw Trevor Chinn come on board as chairman.
The Streetcar fleet consisted of VW Golfs, VW Polos, VW Transporter vans and VW Tourans. From January 2010, Streetcar also introduced the BMW 1 Series and BMW 3 Series to their fleet. The BMW models Streetcar chose, the 116d, 118d and 318d are all class leading cars, with carbon emissions of 119g/km and efficiency of 62.8 mpg across the range. In June 2009, Streetcar became the first UK car club to provide an electric car to its members, as part of a trial with Camden Council.
In January 2010, the company launched their own iPhone application (which is free to download), allowing members across the UK to locate, book and even open a car using their iPhone or iPod touch.
Streetcar had over 1,200 locations across 10 UK cities including; London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bristol, Cambridge, Oxford, Brighton, Southampton, Guildford, and Maidstone.
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Wikipedia