GO-EV CAR SHARE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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Please always check the full terms and conditions

 

Registration:

 

How can I join? Join today by completing our online registration.  We aim to validate your registration within 3 working days. 

 

Who can use the vehicles?  We have limited the use of our vehicles to private or commercial drivers with an address which includes a TR21-TR25 postcode. We will consider some prospective drivers that are conducting business in the Isles of Scilly for the benefit of the Islands, on a case-by-case basis. Please refer to our criteria for joining.

 

When can I start booking vehicles? You will be able to book vehicles as soon as your registration has been validated. 

 

Is there a minimum/maximum age limit? Yes, you must be aged between 21 and 75.

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What documents do I need to provide with my registration? You will need to provide a copy of the following:

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• Driving Licence (Front and back)

• A photo of you with your driving licence

• DVLA Licence Check Code: Your Driving Licence Check Code be obtained from DVLA online service “Share Driving Licence”.   You will need your Driving Licence number and your National Insurance number to access this.

• Proof of address: it must be less than 60 days old, (e.g. a photo/scan of a bank or credit card statement/official letter or a utility bill).

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Can I cancel my account at any time? Yes. If you wish to cancel, please e-mail your request to carshare@ioscv.co.uk with your full details.

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Can I use the vehicle for business use? Yes, but the vehicles shall not be used for the purposes of financial gain arising directly from use of the Vehicle, for example use of the vehicles to provide taxi services.  

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Bookings:

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How do I book a vehicle? When you have registered, please login to your account on the website and follow “New Booking”. 

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What type of vehicles are available?    We have a selection of vehicles available.

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• Nissan eNV200 Combi 7-Seater

• Nissan eNV200 Van 

• Nissan Leaf Car

• Nissan eNV200 wheelchair accessible vehicle.

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Where are the vehicles located? Our vehicles are located at the following stations.

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How far in advance can I book? You can book up to120 days in advance.

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How long can I book a vehicle? For one rental a minimum booking of 30 minutes is required and a maximum of 28 consecutive days. You can make several bookings. If you require a vehicle for longer than 28 days please contact us.

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Can I change my booking? Yes, you can modify your booking in your account.  If it is less than 2 hours prior you may still be charged. For cancellations, please check the cancellation policy in the terms and conditions to avoid charges.

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If I finish my reservation early, will I still be charged for the full time I reserved? If you book a vehicle but only use it for part of the time booked, you will still be charged for unused time.

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Can I cancel my booking? Yes, booked vehicles can be cancelled at any time however additional charges of up to 100% of a day’s rental charge may apply if you cancel less than 2 hours before the start of your rental period.

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Can I view my bookings? On your account under “my rentals” you can view upcoming rentals and rental history.

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Driving

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How do I start my rental? To start your rental, tap your GO-EV Card on the white card reader in the corner of the driver’s windscreen It will light up to indicate your card has been read, and then flash green to indicate the vehicle is unlocked. If you forget your card, you can log into the GO-EV booking system on your computer or mobile phone and press the button to lock/unlock your vehicle, but it might take a little while to process.

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Where are the keys? The key is in the glovebox and must be removed from the magnet prior to starting the vehicle. Please use the key to lock and unlock the vehicle during your rental but return the key to the magnet prior to closing your rental.

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How do I start an electric vehicle?  Each vehicle has instructions in the user guide located in the vehicle or available here.

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What if the vehicle is damaged before I drive?  Each vehicle has a damage log notebook in the glovebox.  Before your rental, please check any damage you can see on the vehicle is entered in the logbook.  If it isn’t, please take a photo and either email carshare@ioscv.co.uk or send to 07340558351 prior to driving.  If you do not notify us of any new damage prior to driving, you could become liable for the damage. Please do not drive the vehicle if such damage will impact your ability to use the vehicle safely. 

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What if I damage the vehicle? You must notify any new damage to a vehicle sustained during your booking to us immediately using the telephone number provided 07340558351 or emailing carshare@ioscv.co.uk.

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Where can I park during my booking? During any rental period, you are responsible for the vehicle. You may use the designated parking bay, or the vehicle must be parked lawfully in accordance with the highway code. Please do not park in other car share parking bays that are not designated for your vehicle as these are for the sole use of other vehicles. You will be liable for any parking tickets. The vehicle must be parked back in its designated parking bay at the end of your booking.

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Who is responsible for cleaning the vehicle? As we are unable to check all vehicles after each use, it is important that vehicles are returned in a clean and tidy condition ready for the next user. All personal possessions and litter should be removed and all GO-EV documents and vehicle accessories in the vehicle prior to the start of the rental period should be inside the vehicle.  Please inform us straight away if you find the vehicle in a poor condition.

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Are pets allowed in the vehicle? You can transport pets if they are contained in a suitable and secure pet carrier or transported in the luggage area of the vehicle and should be suitably restrained in line with the rules stated in the Highway Code. You will be responsible for the removal of any pet hair.

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What if I’m running a bit late? Please contact us immediately so we can inform the next user. Please refer to our late return fees in the terms and conditions.

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What should I do if I breakdown? In the event of an accident, emergency or any situation threatening serious injury to property or human life, immediately dial 9-9-9 and follow the instructions you are given. Please see the user guide for further guidance for non-emergency situations.

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What should I do if I have an accident? In the event of an accident, emergency or any situation threatening serious injury to property or human life, immediately dial 9-9-9 and follow the instructions you are given.

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If you are involved in an accident or other incident whilst using the vehicle you must:

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• not admit any liability or guilt until you have consulted with us; 

• collect and notify us of the names and addresses of everyone involved, including witnesses; 

• photograph any damage to the vehicle, other vehicles or other property; and  

• provide full co-operation to us and our insurers in any investigation or subsequent legal proceedings.

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Where do I return the vehicle? All vehicles must be returned to the designated parking bay from where you originally picked up the vehicle and should be connected back to the charger.

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What should I do if the designated parking bay is blocked? Please park legally as nearby as possible and let us know straight away.

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What should I do if my vehicle is not there for my rental? Please check if the vehicle is parked nearby, if not please contact us.

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How do I end my reservation? Please ensure you have put the vehicle on charge. To end your rental, remove all your belongings and replace the key on the magnet in the glovebox. Tap your GO-EV card on the card reader in the windscreen to lock the vehicle.

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Who pays for a traffic ticket?  You, the user are responsible for paying any parking tickets.

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Do I get charged for the electric? No, you do not get charged for the electric to charge the vehicle but please ensure that the vehicle is connected correctly to the charger at the end of your rental, ready for the next user. Instructions for charging are provided in the user guide.

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How do I charge the vehicle during my rental? For most rentals there should be enough charge for your journey but if you find you need to charge the vehicle you can charge for free at the designated parking bay from where you picked up your vehicle.

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Can I use the public EV chargers? Yes you can but you will be responsible for costs associated from using other charging points.

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What if I need help outside of normal office hours? Outside of our normal operating hours we will only offer support to drivers for emergency issues.  The contact number is in the user guide.

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Can someone else drive during my booking? Yes if they are registered with GO-EV and have been validated as a driver on your account.

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Billing

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How much is it? Please refer to our pricing (click here).

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How do I pay? When you create an account you will be asked to provide details of a valid debit or credit card.   Your payment will be taken at the end of your rental period.

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Where are your full terms and conditions? Please see our full Terms and Conditions (click here).

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What should I do if I want to make a complaint? We will try to resolve any disputes with you quickly and efficiently. If you are unhappy with us, please contact us as soon as possible so that we can deal with your complaint via the following complaint handling procedure:

 

• If you wish to make a complaint, please email carshare@ioscv.co.uk; we aim to contact you within 3 working days to acknowledge receipt of your complaint.  We will investigate and aim to resolve the complaint within 10 working days.

 

• If you are unhappy with the conclusion to your complaint, it will be passed by us to the Council of the Isles of Scilly to investigate further. If you would like to contact them directly, please email enquiries@scilly.gov.uk or write to them at Council of the Isles of Scilly, Town Hall, St Mary's, Isles of Scilly TR21 0LW. 

 

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Insurance:

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Is driving insurance included? Drivers are covered by our fully comprehensive insurance policy. If any damage is caused during a rental you are liable for up to £750 excess. It is possible for you to seek independent insurance for this excess payment, but it is your responsibility to assess the suitability of this product.

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Do your vehicles have breakdown cover?  Unfortunately, this service is not available on the islands but in the event of a breakdown please call the number provided in the user guide.

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GO-EV Project

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How many vehicles are there in the car-share scheme?

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There will be 10 vehicles in the car-share scheme, a mix of cars, 7-seater vehicles and commercial vans to meet the various needs of residents and businesses. All the vehicles have the ability to discharge their energy back into the electricity network known as vehicle-to-grid or V2G.

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Where will the cars be kept?

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Each car share vehicle will have a dedicated parking space with a vehicle to grid (V2G) charger and some will be housed under solar canopies allowing the project to test the optimisation of direct charging from solar photovoltaic panels.

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Why do the GO-EV vehicles need to be vehicle-to-grid (V2G) vehicles?

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Innovation is an intrinsic part of the project and helped it attract the funding. It is important that the introduction of electric vehicles to the islands enhances and supports the current demands on energy provision as well as finding ways to improve supply in the future. V2G technology allows for renewable energy stored in the vehicles to be fed back into the grid at peak times, such as the evening when there may be more demand for electricity than can be met by local renewable energy.

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How many charging points are installed as part of this project? Will they all be Vehicle to Grid (V2G) chargers?

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There are 34 charging points installed under this project.

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10 of these chargers are bi-directional, meaning V2G vehicles will be able to charge from them and discharge their battery power back into the grid if required.

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24 are general use chargers available for use by residents and businesses to charge their own electric vehicles. This will encourage the uptake of electric vehicles and future proof the islands as petrol and diesel vehicles are phased out in the coming years. 

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How have you chosen the sites for chargers?

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Many considerations were taken into account when choosing the best locations for the GO-EV chargers such as:- 

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• Community Engagement 

• Space for a solar canopy 

• Exposure to the elements 

• Suitable Western Power Distribution connection points 

• Distance from potential users 

• Planning constraints 

• Access 

• Current traffic volume/congestion in the area

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How will the vehicles be maintained and serviced?

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The project includes budget for EV maintenance training, and we hope to use this to foster local skills. With no oil or filters, clutch nor complicated gearbox, there are far fewer parts to maintain on an electric vehicle compared to a conventional combustion engine. This means far less servicing and maintenance.

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Aren’t the batteries expensive to replace?

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Yes, in the current market batteries are expensive to replace. However, it is usual for them to be under warranty for 100,000 miles or 8 years – whichever comes first. As the consumer demand for electric vehicles increases it is inevitable that their associated costs will decrease. There is also an exciting emerging market in ‘second-use’ of electric vehicle batteries. EV batteries can have another 5 – 8 years of useful life in a secondary application such as energy storage, once they are no longer efficient enough for their primary use.

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Will the car-share scheme be available for tourists to use?

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No. The current plan is that the car share vehicles will only be available to residents and local businesses on the islands and possibly also for organisations/businesses who regularly visit the islands.

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What is the business case for the project?

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The project is being funded as a trial to see how community car share schemes can operate and influence behaviour change. A business case was not required for the award of the funding, but rather is to be developed over the course of the project, as one of the funding outcomes. The project currently runs until June 2021 although it is highly likely this it will be extended due to delay caused by the pandemic. The business case will investigate all elements including insurance, maintenance, customer service, booking systems, revenue streams from vehicle-to-grid charging and different uses of the car-share scheme.

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Why is the cost of this project so high?

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There has been a great deal of research done to ascertain the cost of the necessary equipment for this project and how best it can be obtained in the most affordable way while taking into account necessary procurement rules. As with all projects on the Isles of Scilly the location factor has also been considered.

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Much of the funding for the project is for the innovation the project will develop as well as the physical elements that will be seen by everyone on Scilly.  While the project will develop a long-term alternative transport solution on the Isles of Scilly, its aim is to test and develop new technologies. The learning from which will not only support the Isles of Scilly’s transition to becoming a sustainable community but also support the UK and beyond.

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What benefits will this project bring to the Isles of Scilly?

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The project will support a reduction in traffic, noise and vehicle emissions and offer residents a lower carbon, more cost-effective alternative to car ownership. It will also add to the Isles of Scilly’s green credentials and enhance our attractiveness to the environmentally aware visitor. 

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What are the wider benefits of this project?

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The pioneering nature of this project means it will act as a pathfinder within the UK and Europe, bringing together best practice and learning from Hitachi’s projects and industry insight from around the world.  The commercial model that will be developed and demonstrated will provide a key step in the UK’s ambition to become a leading innovator in electric vehicle solutions. As with the current projects running under the Smart Islands Programme, GO-EV will help highlight the Isles of Scilly as a destination to the global market.

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How is the programme being funded and by whom?

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This project is fully funded by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership Growth Deal Fund - £606,610 and the European Regional Development Fund - £2,426,440. The EU funding has been underwritten by the UK Treasury. The Council of the Isles of Scilly is the recipient of this funding and GO-EV has been developed under the wider Smart Islands programme.

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Who is responsible for delivering the project?

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The project is managed by the Council of the Isles of Scilly and was delivered by two project partners: The Isles of Scilly Community Venture and Hitachi Europe Ltd.