Exeter City Council rules out Co Cars rescue
Co Cars- Co Cars and Co Bikes went into administration earlier this month
- Its managing director said it had been "severely affected" by the Covid-19 pandemic
- Exeter City Council's chief executive has ruled out the use of council money to rescue the company
- The firm is looking for "potential new providers" to keep the cars and bikes operating
The chief executive of Exeter City Council says the authority does not have the money to revive a local bike and car hire company which collapsed earlier in July.
Co Cars and Co Bikes stopped trading after getting into financial difficulties when demand for its services dropped and it could no longer cover its costs, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
It offered about 200 electric bikes and 50 electric or low-emission cars, mainly around Exeter, which were leased to people by the hour.
Explaining its collapse, managing director Nic Eversett previously said the company had been "severely affected" by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Exeter City Council chief executive Bindu Arjoon has ruled out using council tax money to rescue the firm.
“Obviously the directors of Co Cars have kept us up to date with what was happening.
"They recognise that we don’t have the financial ability to be able to support them. We have our own challenges,” she said.
Ms Arjoon said Co Cars was a "hugely valued service".
She added: “There haven’t been any discussions about us taking it on as we simply aren’t in a financial position to take it on."
'Greatly increased internal costs'
Mr Eversett said changes in travel habits, the cost-of-living crisis and a drop in demand for business travel had significantly impacted revenue.
He said these factors had been aggravated by high fuel prices and energy costs, contributing to "greatly increased internal costs", and also blamed vandalism and supply chain issues.
Mr Eversett said the company was "looking for potential new providers" who could keep the cars and bikes operating.
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