It seems that with the rising costs of owning and running a car that a new wave of car driving is upon us. Once, the only option was owning a car, unless you wanted the expensive alternative of renting a car on a day by day basis.

But there is a new craze amongst us car owners who are scandalised at having to pay such extortionate fees to maintain our vehicles, and this is helped by a new company, Streetcar, who allow you to rent a vehicle and pick it up from designated bays or parking spaces in the town where you live. The cars can be accessed from ‘key’ apps on your iphone, or if you don’t own one you can request to be sent a swipe card, to reduce the need for actual key exchanges.

You have to book the car twenty four hours ahead so that you guarantee a car, and for a small fee you can return the car to a different destination that that where you picked it up.

These businesses rent the cars out per hour, so are perfect if you live in the city and only use a car for popping out of town. For this reason, they compare favourably to car rental companies where you rent by the day or even the week.

And its a great alternative to owning a car. To buy your average vehicle from new, it will cost you around twelve thousand pounds, and in the first year it will depreciate by around two thousand pounds, with the cost of car insurance and road tax. The average cost of a membership for a company like streetcar is around sixty pounds, and your average city household can budget around a thousand pounds a year for the rental of the car when needed.

If you are driving your own car however, make sure that you get Car Insurance Quotes online for the cheapest deal.