Community Electric Car

Pilot project to trial community electric cars in Gwynedd

The first year of the project has come to an end, and its time for the cars to move to their new locations in Penygroes and Llanaelhaearn for the second year!

Want to use one? They are available for anyone to hire by the hour or day.

Have time to help those in your community unable to drive? Become a volunteer community driver.

The project

The Gwynedd community electric car share project is a two-year project with two main aims.

To trial a community car share model in rural communities and see if it helps people who are currently isolated through lack of public transport to access local services and facilities. The cars can serve those who do not have their own car and/or households that would like use of a second car occasionally. Through a team of volunteer drivers the cars can also assist those who are unable to drive, helping them reach medical appointments, for example, as well as social occasions, keeping them in touch with their local community.

To raise awareness of electric cars and promote sustainable transport options. Electric cars are much more efficient than petrol or diesel cars, they can be powered by low carbon renewable energy, have zero tailpipe emissions and are cheaper to run. By giving people an easy opportunity to try out an electric car themselves, the project aims to prove to local residents that people can use an electric car in their day-to-day lives and that it is a viable alternative to a diesel or petrol car. The increase in electric cars on the road in Britain has been huge over the last 6 years (3,500 electric cars in 2013, to 227,000 electric cars end of August 2019)* and it is important that Gwynedd’s rural residents consider the benefits of electric cars, to themselves and to the environment.

The cars

“Carwen” and “Carwyn” are 40kWh Nissan LEAFs. They are 5 door, 5 seater cars with a good amount of boot space. They have an average range of 110-150 miles per charge, depending on driving style and conditions. Drivers that stay light on the accelerator and keep the power gauge in eco mode will get the upper end of that range spectrum – or more!

Without needing to stop and charge, you could easily drive from Penygroes to Machynlleth and back (106 miles), or drive from Llanaelhaearn to Manchester (118 miles) – though you may want to stop for a break during that 2.5hr journey!  And of course they can get you to the local supermarket or doctor’s surgery too.

The communities

For the first year of the project the car we have nicknamed “Carwen” will be based in Penygroes, managed by Siop Griffiths, and “Carwyn” in Llanaelhaearn, managed by Antur Aelhaearn.

Siop Griffiths Cyf are a social enterprise working for the benefit of Penygroes and the surrounding area.  For more information about them or “Carwen” visit The Orsaf Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/yrorsafcymunedol/

To register as a volunteer driver, contact Greta on greta@yrorsaf.cymru

Antur Aelhaearn are a community group working for the benefit of Llanaelhaearn and the surrounding area. For more information about the group or “Carwyn”, visit their social media sites.