LONDON, February 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Three quarters of London drivers say a car gives them independence
Almost a third spend up to £500 on annual motor insurance yet over half only use their car for up to 1 hour a day
According to the latest research* from Ubeeqo, the innovative mobility app, Londoners are wasting thousands of pounds each year on buying, taxing, maintaining, insuring and parking cars they hardly use, as they do not want to solely rely on public transport.
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Key findings
- Over half of London drivers surveyed (59%) only use their car for between 1 and 7 hours a week - less than 1 hour a day
- 1 in 5 only drive between 25 and 50 miles a week - 7 miles a day
- 1 in 10 Londoners pay to park their car
- Over a quarter (28%) of London drivers spent between £5,000 and £10,000 on their current car; 32% spent between £10,000 and £20,000 A third (35%) spend £300-500 per year on car insurance
"Londoners seem to be hostage to car ownership," said Benoit Chatelier, founder and CEO of Ubeeqo. "Our research highlights the disproportionate cost when taking into account how infrequently they drive. On average, Londoners' cars are used for just 4% of the time, the remainder of the time being parked outside their homes, or even worse, in a paid for bay or garage. And these parked, unused cars are also clogging up the already congested London road network."
According to the AA in 2014** it cost on average £1,913 to tax and insure a car that cost up to £13,000 when new, when also taking into account the capital cost, depreciation and breakdown cover. For a Londoner using their car for just 1 hour a day this is a significant outlay even before they consider the cost of servicing, tyres and parking as well as repaying any credit they might have taken out to buy the car in the first place.
Ubeeqo believes the maths simply don't add up for urban car ownership. But it also recognises that Londoners will only relinquish their cars if they believe they can retain the same independence. The Ubeeqo mobility app delivers the independence of car ownership without the burden of the cost.
By joining the exclusive Ubeeqo app, Londoners can access a range of mobility services which they can match to their travel needs.
Matcha - the company's car use by the hour service means Londoners can pick up a car from one of many conveniently located bays across the Capital without any worry about finding or paying for a parking space. Matcha cars are available from £6 per hour, inclusive of fuel for the first 50 miles of each booking.
Europcar - Ubeeqo users can also opt for conventional car rental for longer durations from Europcar, with a wide range of vehicle makes and models available from a network of more than 250 locations across the UK.
And it is all managed from the one platform - the Ubeeqo app - making it easy to organise, as well as manage the cost. Londoners simply need to sign up to the Ubeeqo app, which is free of charge and with no usage commitment, to access the growing range of mobility services, with a mapping system showing availability around the Capital for the service they need.
"Ubeeqo can help London drivers free themselves of the financial drain of car ownership with a unique range of urban mobility solutions", concluded Benoit Chatelier. "Unlike other services that just offer one travel option, Ubeeqo combines a range of mobility solutions so that the traveller can arrange the best way to manage their journey, all from one app."
*YouGov research conducted, December 2015 - 1006 car drivers living in London. The survey was carried out online.
**AA Motoring Costs 2014 - http://www.theaa.com/resources/Documents/pdf/motoring-advice/running-costs/petrol2014.pdf
For further press information please contact the Ubeeqo UK Press Office:
Parm Heer, Charlotte Hart, Wendy Harrison or Madeleine Roles
+44(0)20-8977-9132
ubeeqoukteam@harrisonsadler.com
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