GoCar to open new rental base at Belfield

Pay-per-trip car rental company GoCar is to open a new base on the Belfield campus at University College Dublin.

The company, which offers 70 vehicles to rent by the hour in Dublin and Cork, will initially provide two Ford Fiesta GoCity cars for students and staff at the university. A third parking space will also be reserved for visiting GoCars.

Anyone over the age of 21 with a full driver’s licence can sign up to the scheme, which allows them to rent cars and vans by the hour from 55 GoBases located in Dublin and Cork.

It costs €50 to sign up for the electronic card, plus an additional monthly fee of €5 and a charge by the kilometre or by the hour for each trip. Parking is free in Dublin City Council pay-and-display parking spaces.

GoCar chief executive Colm Brady said the announcement of the new base at Ireland's largest university was an important milestone for the company.

"GoCar offer a convenient and cost effective travel solution to our members and we encourage people to think differently about car ownership. This is a wonderful opportunity to get this message to the future leaders and decision makers of Ireland, " he said.

UCD director of estates Aidan Grannell said the university had been interested in the scheme as an innovative and cost-effective way of addressing the community’s transport needs.

“GoCar is a wonderful initiative and a fine addition to the existing facilities we have on campus,” he said.

The company claims that on-demand car rental schemes like GoCar will result in fewer vehicles on Irish roads, and encourage commuters to make more conscious decisions about their transport needs.