Green cars: A Special Advertising Report
Car charter pools a hire purpose
12 March 2007
THINKING outside the square when it comes to your transportation arrangements can save you money and help the environment at the same time.
Charter Drive is a fast-growing car sharing business that can put an environmentally sound Mercedes A-Class in your hands, give you a CBD car space, fuel, insurance and maintenance. And you only pay for the time you use the car, all for less per month than many companies spend on their cab charges. "Our vision is to provide a more sustainable, flexible and economical private transport solution for inner-city businesses, residents and workers," says the director of Charter Drive, Paul Reichman.
How they manage to do this is not by using magic, but by getting you to share a fleet of immaculately maintained vehicles that are available from Charter Drive's centrally located CBD car spaces whenever you want them. The benefits of a Charter Drive car is that it comes without long-term leasing commitments, no Fringe Benefits Tax problems, no fleet management headaches. The bean counters will love the extra pluses that include up to 50per cent savings relative to cabs, no depreciating assets, the scheme is off the balance sheet -- and the whole package is totally tax deductible.
There are positives on the environmental side as well. Charter Drive uses new A150 Mercedes that are one of only four cars in Australia to receive a 5-star environmental rating from the Australian Greenhouse Office. Studies in Germany and Switzerland have found that car sharing reduces vehicle kilometres travelled by as much as 70 per cent, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Instead of a three-year leasing arrangement, with Charter Drive there is a simple membership fee of $100 per month for up to five drivers, and an additional $20 per driver for up to 10 drivers registered. Using the car, costs members just $10 per hour, capped at $70 over a 24-hour period. The usage fee of 20c a kilometre also
includes fuel. And Charter Drive pays for all insurance costs. The only cost to members is the standard excess rate of $1000, though excess reductions can be negotiated to bring this down to $350.
Getting into a Charter Drive Mercedes is as easy as making a phone or web booking and cars can be reserved in advance or at the last minute. Run your swipe card across the windscreen to unlock the vehicle, grab the keys from the glovebox, and you are ready to drive away.
The car is then returned to the same reserved car space. Time and distance are recorded electronically and the detailed bill is emailed each month.
Copyright 2007 News Ltd. All Rights Reserved