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Keen to keep ahead of the growth of car sharing and lift-giving schemes, Toyota has launched YUKO, its own in-house car club, which will see cars parked around major city centres, available for use by those who sign up to a monthly fee.
Dublin is actually the launch city for YUKO, and initially there will be 15 cars parked and ready at three key locations in the city, and all qualify for free on-street parking. The models available will be Auris, Prius and Yaris, for the moment, with Prius Plugin and the new C-HR crossover to follow later in the year. All will be hybrids, so as to minimise their impact on city centre air quality.
Commenting on the launch, Steve Tormey, CEO Toyota Ireland said: "We are honoured that Toyota Europe has chosen Dublin for the launch of YUKO and are very excited about the promise YUKO holds for addressing some of the key mobility issues in large metropolitan areas such as Dublin, while providing customers access to our latest hybrid vehicles. YUKO's hybrid vehicles are the best way to help reduce congestion and improve air quality, while providing a stress free and fuel efficient driving experience without the burden of range anxiety."
To join Yuko, you pay a €50 joining fee, and then €6 a month subscription. A Yaris can then be hired for €8 an hour, or €60 for a day, with a 15-minute extension costing €2. An Auris costs €10 an hour, or €70 a day and a Prius €15 an hour or €85 a day. Overnight rates start from €14 for an Auris. Those are expensive compared to the daily rate you'd pay for a conventional rental car, but look less pricey when you consider that most will only rent a car for an hour or two at most, and when you consider the fringe benefits which, according to Toyota, include 50km worth of free fuel, sat-nav in all models, fully comprehensive insurance and that free on-street parking.
Attending the launch of YUKO, Minster for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross, said: "We welcome the arrival of Toyota's YUKO car club initiative to Dublin. Low emissions, urban congestion and mobility are high on our agenda and we believe that the car sharing model is a credible solution to improving these important problems. With the added bonus of using hybrid vehicles, YUKO Car Club is an excellent addition to the transport options in Dublin City."
Initially, the locations for car pickups will be in Smithfield and Kilmainham, IFSC and Ringsend, and Ranelagh and Rathmines. You can book a car in advance or on-the-spot but it must be returned to the location you collected it from. Toyota is also shortly to announce YUKO tie-ups with major corporations and two five-star hotels which will make their cars available to both staff and visitors. You can find more information on yuko.toyota.ie.