AN electric car club should soon be operating in North Oxford, one of two communities chosen for a national pilot scheme.

The organisers claim it will be the UK’s first wholly electric car club and will hit the road later this year.

The pilot will see up to five full-sized electric vehicles available in the area.

Local residents and businesses who sign up for the scheme will be able to hire electric cars or vans by the hour for about £6.

The scheme is being run by E-Car: the Electric Vehicle Car Club, a private company.

North Oxford, Abingdon and Kirtlington all made it on to a shortlist of eight communities.

But North Oxford and Milton Keynes have now been chosen as the pilot areas.

E-Car development director Christopher Morris said: “The scheme will be simple to use. Members will be sent a personal smartcard and pin code. They will then be able to book vehicles online or by phone – weeks in advance or minutes before they are needed, and for any period of time from a single hour to multiple days.

“They then walk to a local car, tap the card on a reader inside the windscreen, unplug the charging cable and away they go. When they return the vehicle to its dedicated bay, they simply have to plug it back in.”

The company says that in addition to cars it will provide the charging infrastructure, and is currently in the process of choosing sites.

According to Transport Minister Norman Baker, Oxford is already in “pole position to lead the country in introducing electric cars”.

Earlier this month he unveiled a plan to make the city Europe’s leader in promoting electric cars – with more charge points per head of population than anywhere else.

While car clubs already operate in the city, the North Oxford one will be the first scheme exclusively to use electric vehicles.

E-Car says that it has worked directly with members of local low carbon groups to ensure the club is in part designed by the local community it will serve.

Sam Clarke, chairman of Low Carbon Oxford North, said: “I’m optimistic that enough people will come forward to make the scheme workable here. When we carried out a local survey, 60 out of 100 people said they would be interested.

“We are delighted that the bandwagon is moving. Oxford seems to be attracting these kind of initiatives. But I think getting supply points installed in pavements could yet be a complicated exercise.”

E-Car said Abingdon and Kirtlington could still be involved, with plans in hand to add additional communities to the programme in coming months.

A network of electric car charging points were fitted last year in 11 Oxford car parks, allowing green-minded drivers to recharge free.

Electric car users can plug their vehicles into 20 public recharging points in the city centre and at park-and-ride car parks.