Very Handy

I have had to give up owning my own car as in 5 years petrol went up from 90p a liter to 1.39p and insurance from £340 to £600+ as well as road tax etc and the fact that some major malfunction was always around the corner. As I live in south east London I can cycle every where quite easily and if I need a car there is always a Zip car just around the corner.

To join Zip car all you need to do is go to the Zip car web site and pay the joining fee or just £6 a month and then prove you have a clean driving license, they ring up Swansea.

I have rented a VW Lupo from them for only £5 an hour on many occasions. All you have to do is go on line and see if a car is available near you. If one is book it. However long you need it, it is all yours.

You are sent a card which unlocks the car and the key is inside the car so you can start the engine and go. All insurance is included along with 40 miles of petrol.

I have also rented a VW Golf automatic for £6.50 an hour. It is a cheap way to get about if you do not need a car much and do not have far to go. Considering that owning a car cost £250 a month at least once you buy petrol, insurance, depreciation, road tax, fines etc you can still get a lot of Zip car use for less money.

I use to drive every where but my doctor said I needed more exercise which was another good reason to give up owning a car and go cycling instead.

So to get a zip car you register with them they then send you a membership card which gets you into their cars and away you go. Do not go over your allotted rental time however as they will charge you £35 if you do.