Choose Car Sharing

Driving your car by yourself can get lonely, not to mention expensive, but it does not have to be that way! More and more people are making their everyday journeys a more enjoyable experience by car sharing.

At the same time they are saving themselves money, easing congestion and doing their bit for the environment.

Car Sharing is when two or more people travel together by car for all or part of the car trip. This can be arranged informally between friends, family and colleagues, or by joining one of the car sharing schemes outlined below.

Some Benefits of Car Sharing:

• Reduce congestion and save valuable time at the beginning and the end of the day.
• Reduce fuel costs and parking charges by sharing the day-to-day expenses.
• Reduce the mileage and everyday wear and tear on your vehicle
• Reduce stress levels.
• Reduce traffic pollution and help contain the increasing pressure on the local community and environment.
• Enjoy a more sociable and less stressful way of travelling.

Sharing the Costs

The easiest way of sharing the cost of driving is to take turns to drive or passengers could pay the driver a contribution towards petrol and running costs which should be agreed in advance.  However, the driver should not make a profit from the car sharing agreement. If you have any concerns, your insurance company will be able to advise.

Parking Problems? Why not join the Worcestershire CarShare scheme!

If your work car park is bursting at the seams and you’ve run out of options, try registering on the Worcestershire CarShare database.

• Developed by Worcestershire County Council, Worcestershire CarShare is a simple to use website that searches for your perfect CarShare partner.
• Worcestershire based employers can register on the website free of charge and employees can then register on the website and search for car share matches amongst other colleagues. They can also choose to extend their search to include people from other organisations in the same area.
• If your employer is not registered on the CarShare scheme, you can still join the scheme as an individual. Just visit Worcestershire Carshare, register your details and find potential car sharing matches for the journeys you wish to make.  Alternatively, you could register on Liftshare, the national database. Liftshare can help you find a car-sharing partner for either regular or occasional journeys, such as to a festival or event.

However you join, registration allows you to specify your requirements, such as the days and times that you are travelling, whether as a driver or passenger, or whether you would prefer to.

Get in Touch

If you would like to talk to someone about registering on the Car Share database contact Choose@worcestershire.gov.uk or call 01905 728621. In addition to advising on the Car Share scheme, we can also help you to develop and implement a Travel Plan for your organisation.

This page was last reviewed 30 July 2012 at 15:49.
The page is next due for review 26 January 2014.