London

One company, Street Car, now has around 1,000 cars available to members in 28 of London’s 32 boroughs.

And the City Car Club claims that since the start of the credit crunch its membership has risen by 80%.

This is how they work - in return for a £50 membership fee, you can rent any of their cars for under a fiver an hour.

You don’t have to worry about insurance, or road tax, and the petrol is usually free for the first 50 miles or so.

And because the bays are all reserved spaces, you don’t have to worry about where to park when you get home.

You book the cars online and unlock them using a special swipe card.