Car share is a service that allows people to book and use a car for a short time — this could be an hour, a few hours, or a whole day — without having to own one.

Members of a car share service can reserve a vehicle online or through a mobile app, pick it up from a designated car share parking space and return it to the same spot when finished.

Car share is different from owning a private car because you only pay for the time and distance you use.

This service is designed to make it easier and affordable for households who don’t need a car every day, helping reduce the costs of car ownership such as fuel, registration, insurance and maintenance. It also helps reduce the total number of cars on our streets, freeing up more parking for everyone and supporting a cleaner, healthier environment.

The Car Share Policy was adopted by Council at the 3 December 2024 Ordinary Meeting. Car sharing helps reduce demand for street parking and offers an alternative sustainable mode of transport. It also provides the community with access to a range of vehicles without needing to purchase a private vehicle and supports reducing private car ownership.

Car share is different to ride sharing services like Uber or taxi as a car share user rents the car share vehicle for a fixed period of time and returns the vehicle to the same location it was picked up from.

Car share vehicles are only available to people who have a membership with the car share operator’s service. Membership is generally open to anyone who holds a valid driver’s licence and meets the operator’s requirements.

To use a car share vehicle, the user needs to be a member of the car share operator service and have a driver’s license, subject to checks.

Council looks at several factors before deciding if a street or car park is suitable for a car share space. These include:

• How many people live in the area now and in the future (population forecasts).
• How many people already own cars and how much demand there is for parking.
• Whether car share is already being used nearby and how popular those car share vehicles are.
• How well the location connects to other transport options, like buses, trains and cycleways.

The process works like this:

1. A car share operator applies to request a space from Council.
2. Council reviews the request and assess it against the factors above.
3. Council asks the community for feedback through consultation.
4. If supported, the location is then endorsed by the Local Traffic Committee and reported to Council before being finalised.

This way, Council makes sure that any new car share spaces are placed where they are most likely to benefit the community and ease parking pressure.

Car share parking spaces have NOT yet been converted. At the moment, 18 spaces across the Canterbury-Bankstown are open for consultation to convert into dedicated car share parking spaces.

It’s important to note that car share operators, like all registered vehicles, can legally park their vehicles in unrestricted on-street parking.

However, the difference is that dedicated spaces:

• Make it easier for members to find a car share vehicle because they know exactly where it will be parked.
• Give the whole community better visibility of where car share vehicles are located.
• Encourage more people to use car share, which in the long term can reduce the number of privately-owned cars competing for parking in our streets.

After consultation, a report will be prepared and presented to the Canterbury-Bankstown Local Transport Forum. If supported, the matter will proceed to an Ordinary Council Meeting for final consideration and decision.