IT IS THE end of the road for a car sharing scheme in Haddington and North Berwick.

Co-wheels, the UK’s biggest car club, has withdrawn from the two towns from Saturday due to low usage levels.

Members had been able to hire a Toyota Yaris based at Haddington’s Aubigny Sports Centre, a Toyota Aygo at North Berwick’s Glebe Car Park and a Renault Zoe EV at North Berwick’s Imperial Car Park.

Tony Archer, Scottish location manager at Co-wheels, said: “We have decided to re-locate the Co-wheels cars in Haddington and North Berwick to alternative Scottish locations due to a greater demand of the car club elsewhere in the country. This will take effect from June 15. Registered members who have utilised the Haddington and North Berwick cars have been notified and we hope they will continue to use the Co-wheels car club service in other locations in the future.”

Co-wheels – which has been operating in East Lothian for more than six years – also has a Toyota Yaris hybrid based at Dunbar Railway Station and a Toyota Aygo X-Play Nav at the town’s Bleachingfield Centre, as well as a Toyota Yaris Hybrid at Bridge Street in Musselburgh and a Toyota Aygo X-Play Nav located on the town’s High Street.

Councillor Jim Goodfellow, who represents the North Berwick Coastal ward, said: “I am disappointed that Co-wheels has not managed to make a success of this very interesting venture. I understand there are other car clubs starting to look at setting up in East Lothian and will be interested to how this develops.”

His view was echoed by Haddington and Lammermuir ward councillor Tom Trotter, who was surprised by the news.

He said: “That is sad. I had not heard anything in the build up to that; it has come right out of the blue. I don’t know how much they were getting used but it is a service for people.”

Co-wheels is a pay-as-you-go car hire scheme where members can book cars online and use a smartcard to access them – no need for keys. At the end of the booking, members, who only pay for the hire time and distance they drive, return the car to a dedicated parking bay.