We’re more savvy . . . ownership is no longer the ultimate prize

BY ALL accounts – and there were very many penned in the newspapers – the final episode of Peter Kay’s Car Share was a resounding success. Apparently, the “will they, won’t they” relationship between John and Kayleigh was finally resolved . . . or was it?

Alas, I missed the ultimate episode of the Bafta-winning telly show.

I tend to treat regular TV programmes as I do my welly boots – they’re only ever put on when it’s raining and I can remember where to find them.

The central plotline of Car Share, however, does reflect a growing trend among motorists. Not unrequited love or sexual tension – though that’s entirely possible, I’m sure

– but the take-up of share schemes to halve commuting costs.

This is entirely logical and practical in an age when, if truth be told, most of us use our vehicles only a tiny percentage of our lifetimes – most normally on the work commute or weekend shopping trips – and when motoring costs are becoming increasingly onerous.

When passengers make a contribution towards the driver’s fuel bill, travelling becomes less expensive, while the level of pollutants affecting Scotland’s cities exponentially decreases.

If more folks chose to share, the other major benefits could include less congestion on the way to work and shorter journey times simply because there would be far fewer cars on Scotland’s roads.

Fewer cars would also means less accursed competition for those rare as hen’s teeth city centre parking spaces. The potential downside, of course, is having to put up with inane chat about the weather and potholes in order to fill those long, awkward silences on a Monday morning.

Plus there will always be one passenger who tries everyone else’s patience and delicate sensibilities – such as Fred from accounts, who is never ready on time and insists on eating his fried egg and ketchup roll en route to the office.

Perhaps Fred is the reason increasing numbers of motorists are leaving traditional car ownership altogether and opting instead for car subscription services. These have been dubbed ‘Netflix hires’ because a monthly sum allows users to dip in and out of the service whenever their fancy takes them.

Under such systems, a driver pays a flat rate every month for a vehicle in a deal that includes the rental, breakdown cover, roadside assistance, vehicle tax and any necessary routine maintenance.

Younger drivers, in particular, are steering towards monthly subscriptions, according to new data released by one of the UK’s biggest rental firms Drover. It claims a five-fold increase in users since early last year and boldly estimates one in ten drivers may be subscribing within a decade.

There’s no doubt, as consumers, we’re fast becoming more financially savvy when it comes to motoring, especially when we realise the biggest cost to having a car is the dizzying depreciation. This means ownership is no longer the ultimate prize in life.

As Kayleigh is happy to confess as she’s driven to her supermarket rep job: “I’ve not got much to show for my time on this Earth, John ... 36 pairs of shoes and a set of Babyliss crimpers.”