Co-wheels is a social enterprise that allows you to hire a car as and when you need to. It’s a great option if you only need occasional use of a car, or are looking to reduce the number of cars you own – many car club members give up at least one car within a year.

You can book cars online or via app for as little as 30 minutes, and once you’re a member, you can book and use cars anywhere in the country. Co-wheels have a number of vehicles in locations across Poole and Bournemouth – new locations are being considered in Christchurch. It costs around £5/hour to book, plus a small mileage fee.

Co-wheels also offer various types of vehicle, including petrol, hybrid and electric vehicles. Although the range of an electric vehicle does vary, you can expect to travel around 100 miles without needing to recharge. If you do book an electric vehicle, always plug in to recharge when you return it so the next user has as much range as possible.

You can join if you have a non-UK or Northern Ireland driving licence, but the licence checks will be slightly different. As long as you’ve had a full licence for at least a year, and have less than nine points on your licence, you should be able to join.

To join, just visit the Co-wheels website, and follow the links provided.

Local businesses

If you’re a business operating in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area, you can also join Co-wheels. Setting up a corporate account is fairly simple, and once you have a corporate account you can invite all your employees to join the account – this makes billing easier and allows you to make sure all travel is business related.

You can use cars already installed by Co-wheels, but if you feel they aren’t close enough or you need more exclusive use of a car, you can arrange to have a new vehicle installed or buy/lease one and manage it through Co-wheels.