Shiny New Whipcar
We’ve just unwrapped our shiny new website at WhipCar.com.
What we had built was getting a little dusty and lots of people seemed to be copying us (hello America) so we thought it was time for a shakeup. You’ll find it’s now much easier to find your way around. All the important information is now at your fingertips on our new ‘Your dashboard’ page.
There are 2 brand new sections to check out. For Drivers there’s a ‘Your WhipCars’ page – our recommendations for your next WhipCar rental based on a top secret algorithm. WhipCar owners get a really useful ‘Market your Car’ tool kit – so they can spread the word that their car is available.
You guys are a big part of the WhipCar experience and we’re constantly asked if we can make it easier for you to find out more about each other before the keys are picked up. So to get the most out of WhipCar from now on, owners will need to add 4 car photos to their listing and drivers will need to upload a photo of themselves before they can make a booking.
WhipCar is all about connecting people, so we thought we should make things a bit more sociable and use your social network to help you find local drivers or choose the right car. Connect your Facebook or Twitter account and bookings will be even easier. Members trust each other more when their profile is authenticated.
That’s all for now. There’s lots more to come in the new year. Have a great December!
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We are grateful and proud to report that we’ve won TechCrunch Europe’s Best Cleantech Startup award for 2010. According to the judges, WhipCar “has the potential to change the nature of car use to one which is many times more efficient and ‘green’ than it is today.” It’s fair to say that we agree with their assessment!
It’s early days as we launched just seven months ago but we’ve calculated a few statistics along the way and determined that the average car registered on WhipCar generates less than 156.5 gCO2/km, which is more fuel efficient than the UK’s averge car at 176.3 gCO2/km. Furthermore, over 30% of WhipCars generate less than 140 gCO2/km.
The RAC released some new statistics today indicating that the annual cost of owning and running a car increased 6.3% over the last 12 months to £5,869. If we adjust this figure to exclude depreciation, which is a non-cash expense, the average new car owner has parted with £2,797 in hard earned cash this past year for something that lies unused for roughly 336 days of the year!
WhipCar now has over 1,000 cars on offer across 450 towns in the UK. Many members are earning hundreds of pounds per month by renting our their cars to local people who want to drive more sensibly. If you haven’t yet joined us what are you waiting for?
Source: RAC Motoring Index
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Tags: Europas, RAC, TechCrunch, WhipCar
For immediate release 21 October 2010
THE FUTURE IS HERE: VIRTUAL CAR FLEET NOW 1,000-STRONG
WhipCar (www.WhipCar.com), the world’s first neighbour-to-neighbour car rental service has just announced its 1,000th car on the service. Compared to leading UK car clubs which took approximately six years to achieve a similar scale, it has taken WhipCar only six months, making WhipCar the world’s fastest-growing car club.
By enabling private car owners to rent out their cars for the first time, WhipCar has created the country’s only and broadest virtual rental car fleet with over 40 different makes of car available to rent across 450 towns and cities in the UK. In areas where WhipCar now has cars available, it tends to be the closest, lowest cost and most convenient option for anyone looking to rent a car.
Vinay Gupta, Founder of WhipCar comments on the growth of the service: “We are very excited and encouraged by what we’ve seen so far. Cars should be things that are available when you need them whilst paying their own way when you don’t. People are starting to think of cars as financial and social opportunities not depreciating assets.”
Research has shown that the average car in the UK costs over £5,000 per year to own and maintain, and is used on average only an hour a day.
Tom Wright, Founder of WhipCar says: “With WhipCar, a private car owner can make money whenever they are not using their car easing the burden of the traditional ownership model. Several members have already made over £1,000 since the service first launched in April and scores are earning hundreds of pounds per month. We expect WhipCar to be the most convenient, affordable and flexible transport option, especially for anyone who drives between 1,000 and 6,000 miles per year. Fast forward a few years and we want to see a WhipCar within striking distance on every street in the UK.”
About WhipCar
WhipCar is the world’s first neighbour-to-neighbour car rental service that enables private car owners to rent out their cars for money to safe, eligible drivers looking for a close, convenient and affordable way to rent them. The service, which is free to join, notifies owners by text and email when there is an approved driver in their area who wants to use their car. All cars and drivers are vetted and screened by WhipCar before a booking is completed, and each journey is fully insured through a comprehensive insurance package (through Lloyd’s of London) that temporarily replaces the owner’s existing insurance for the duration of hire.
For more information, please contact Alice Huang, +44 207 631 3422, pr@whipcar.com
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Dormant cars
The WhipCar team are seriously busy but we came across an interesting piece of research last week on ‘Dormant cars’ in the UK which we felt compelled to talk about very briefly. This Onepoll survey investigating the cost of dormant motors to the British public estimated the cost at £65 billion every year.
Among the many fascinating statistics this research raised were the following;
- A city car dweller spends an average of 4 hours 40 minutes behind the wheel each week, which equates to their vehicles sitting there gathering dust 97% of the time.
- The average annual cost of a car for city dwellers in the UK stands at a colossal £5,328.98
- The average UK city car owner pays an average of £3.50 for every mile they drive (and that’s before they’ve put any fuel in)
With WhipCar you can now make money whenever you are not using your car. Given this 97% inactivity and the huge costs of car ownership it’s no wonder so many of you are choosing to put your car to work.
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Come and work for us
When it comes to people at WhipCar, our vision is simple – we want to fill our sunny offices with a smart, driven and passionate team.
We have a talented little group of staff, but we’re already on the look out for more.
We’d like to find a great Head of Customer Experience together with some bright young interns. Take a look at the job descriptions here – http://www.whipcar.com/jobs
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WhipCar owner’s packs
When you add your car to WhipCar we send you an amazing owner’s pack in the post. It’s completely free and it contains everything you need to start making money from your car. Lots of owner’s have talked about how cool this pack looks so we thought we’d post a picture below to give you all a sense of what you’ll be getting in the post.
The pack contains:
- How-to booklets – so you know what to do
- Drivers Guides (to sit in your car)
- Personalised business cards and flyers – so you can give access to your car to neighbours
- A WhipCar car sticker
- Other goodies
To claim your pack today simply add your car to WhipCar.com…
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