Byron Shire Council will launch its 12-month car share pilot program on World Environment Day, 5 June 2019.
This car share program is the first of its kind in the Northern Rivers and is a joint project with Popcar which was selected through an Expression of Interest process to provide 10 cars for short-term use.
Council is providing eight parking spaces in Byron Bay and two parking spaces in Mullumbimby for the car share pilot.
Shannon Burt, Director Sustainable Environment and Economy, said the aim of the pilot is to test the market to see if there is long-term potential for a car sharing service in the Shire.
"One of the objectives of the Byron Bay Masterplan is to get more cars out of the town centre and make it more people-friendly, and car sharing could be one way of doing this," Ms Burt said.
"Car sharing is common-place in some of our capital cities in Australia and in other places around the world but it is a new concept for the Byron Shire," she said.
"There are people in our community who may have a driver's licence but cannot afford to have a car, or who do not need one.
"The advantage of car sharing is that people have access to cars for short periods of time which is ideal if they need to get to a medical appointment or go to shops outside the local area," Ms Burt said.
Any licensed driver over the age of 18 will be able to use the car share service operated by Popcar which will take care of all running costs of the cars including registration, fuel, insurance and maintenance. The cars are available to use for one hour to four days. Members of Popcar can book the car for whenever they need it and only pay for the amount of time they use the car.
Details about the car share pilot program are available at www.byron.nsw.gov.au/Projects-and-initiatives/Car-share-pilot-program
