RE: Street Car (in East Dulwich) - is it any good?

[skip]

How are people finding using street car. Thinking of signing up. Skip.

[alachlan]

very good - at the moment they are offering ?1 off per hour at certain times too. maybe if you sign up you can use my name and then I think we both get some free credit. PM me if you want to do this.

[bawdy-nan]

I love it.

My main problem is to do with working out when I want to give it back. I've been caught out a few times by traffic - my own fault I suppose.

I wish there were some more locally and I really wish they'd put up some bike racks near the cars

[SteveT]

Has anyone tried them at a big holiday like Easter or Christmas?

Did they have sufficient vehicles for your needs?

[espelli]

I love it too, bike racks near the cars is a really good idea. The ones near me get booked up quite often but have still been able to do a more spontaneous booking occasionally. The people at the other end of the phone are also very helpful.

[alachlan]

Not tried at those times of year but you could probabyl book far enough in advance to make sure. I've never had a problem getting a booking at one of the ones near the station.

[sphillips]

You can reserve a car up to 6 months in advance. Bookings can be online or by phone. You have to get in pretty quickly for Christmas as they do get booked up.

I gave up my car 2 years ago and been using Streetcar since. Their customer service is very good. Streetcar is good for occasional use ? it?s not cost effective for daily use! I tend to use the one in Crystal Palace Road. Only slight problem very occasionally, not Streetcar?s fault, is that the car gets blocked in by inconsiderate parkers.

Also, you do need to plan your drop off time. There is not much room for flexibility as you cannot shorten a booking once it has started.

If you book online there is an indication of how much the trip is likely to cost.

They have a good website which explains all.

Overall, an excellent service and recommended.

[skip]

you say you've been caught out due to being stuck in traffic? Does this mean you pay a penalty charge?

Can I take it across to Europe on a ferry for a weekend break or holiday?

If I wanted it for a weekend, non bank holiday, how far ahead do you suggest to book? A month in advance?

How much do you spend a year on it, for occasional use?

Any answers to these would be good. thanks everyone for your comments. skip.:)

[alachlan]

A car wasn't there when I booked it and I called them up, they gave me nearly ?50 in free credit so I assume this is the same or less than they charge the non-returner. As someone else said, I wouldn't use it for a longer trip - it will end up more expensive, you get 30 miles a day included (and they pay the petrol if it needs filling using a special card inside the car) and after that I think its about 23p a mile (again inclusive of petrol).

[Smiler]

Sorry to be thick, but what is Street Car?

Thought you were referring to an am dram version of the Tennesse Williams play.....

[sphillips]

See their website - www.streetcar.co.uk

Or you call them on 0845 6448475

[Azul]

I use streetcar too, they're ok to use during the week after work.

On weekends they tend to get booked pretty quickly, so you need to be up before 11am.

I struggle with that...

for long weekends, zipcar is much better, they're not around in dulwich but there are a few in brixton(37) and others in oval(185). they offer double the millage and they end up being much much cheaper for a weekend than a streetcar.

[LibraCarr]

Hi,

Is this streetcar called desire... or am I missing something.

regards,

Libra Carr.

[jctg]

Isn't it just glorified car rental?

[bawdy-nan]

I get caught out with traffic because I;m rubbish at working out how ling its going tot ake to get anywhere - its my own fault. It would be nice to be able to bring it back eraly and not lose all of your money.

I suppose it is glorified car rental but its glorified by the facts that there are several within short walking distance, you can hire by the half hour, you don't have to sign loads of paperwork everytime you want to use one and you don't have to buy petrol. Ireckon its probably cheaper to hire from a hire car form if you want a long hire.

I joined expecting to spend about a 1000 a year (which was what I reckoned my car cost before I even put any petrol in. The truth has turned out to be that I use it far less than I thought I would - if I need to heft the kids somewhere - have a borthay patry and loads of errands to run etc etc. I probably spend less than 50 a month. I cycle much more and order stuff from the internet and for local delivery (I hate shopping at the supermarket and what with ocado and pretty traditional doing deliveries I don't need to go there).

I checked out how Streetcar compares to the other car clubs and it probably is slightly more expensive if you're doing longer journeys - ie you get more free miles with the other but Streetcar has, by far and away the most cars and the most in ED.

One of the problems I do have with them is the having to check for damage. Inevitably the sars do tend to have some scratches and dents - all of which are recorded in the log books. THey charge you quite a lot for "repairs" bit then don't actually carry them out so checking that the bumps and scratches match up with whats supposed to be there can be very boring - especially when its dark.

[Moos]

Not really glorified. Just car rental.

[DiD]

Some friends took it for 3 weeks this Summer to France via Ferry -- and because once they were there, they stayed more or less locally, the mileage didn't add up to very much. Apparently it was fine.

We use it occasionally, and do find that for weekends, you need to book in advance. If you are running late, and its not booked up after you, you can always ring them from the car (there's a direct link) and extend by a half hour.

[ChavWivaLawDegree]

Do you have to pay more to take it to the continent?