Green cafe couple back car sharing club

THE owners of a café have praised Henley Car Club.

Millie Jeans and Talia Maguire, who own Drifters in Duke Street, joined the club after their car “died”.

The car was parked when it was broke into and the catalytic converter stolen.

The couple couldn’t afford a new converter or to repair the car so they decided to try the car club, which was launched in April last year by the town council to help make Henley more environmentally friendly.

The pay-as-you-go scheme has two Toyota Yaris hybrid vehicles which can be hired.

Ms Jeans and Ms Maguire, who were recently married, use a car for shopping, visiting family and friends, day trips and occasionally book it for a few days at a time such as for the week of their wedding.

They said: “It’s incredibly convenient and flexible and parking close to the centre of the town is a nightmare so you don’t have to worry about that either.

“On top of all the positives, we have the satisfaction of knowing that being a car club member is a very environmentally friendly thing to do.

“The car club enables us to be car-free most of the time without having the worry of when the next bill is going to hit you and to just use a car when we have to.”

The couple were already doing their bit for the environment as Drifters stopped using disposable coffee cups and instead gives customers mugs to take away and keep and bring back next time or donate to charity shops.

In March they hadn’t used a takeaway cup for 12 months, which stopped about 10,000 single-use cups from going into landfill.

The car club, which is run by
Co-Wheels, costs £25 to join, then £5.75 per hour or £46 per day to hire a car plus 20p per mile. There are no insurance, maintenance or fuel charges.

The cars are parked outside Gibbs & Dandy in Reading Road and in Upper Market Place, behind the town hall.

For more information, visit
www.co-wheels.org.uk/how-it-works