Do you often travel to work alone by car? Car sharing is when two or more people get together to share a journey by car. It can result in a number of benefits, some of which may be more obvious than others.
Save money
Car sharing is a great way to save money on your commute; imagine halving how much you spend each year on fuel – and that’s just if you share with one other person!
It is reported that people who frequently share a journey to work by car, rather than driving alone, can save over £1000 a year in fuel costs. That’s a lot of cash to spend as you please!
To help find out how much you could save make use of this handy Savings Calculator
Reduce CO2 emissions
Transport accounts for a significant amount of the CO2 emitted across not just the UK, but the world. The commute to work forms a significant part of this. Car sharing helps to minimise the number of cars on the road, and in doing so helps to minimise CO2 emissions.
Reduce your stress levels
Being stuck in traffic can be no fun at all! By car sharing you are doing your bit to reduce the number of cars on the road, but there are other ways it can help to reduce stress. Firstly, travelling as a passenger some of the time can be much less stressful than driving every day. On top of that, a journey can be much less stressful with someone to chat to!
Reduce congestion on our roads
We all notice how much quieter our roads are during the school holidays, right? Well, traffic levels are actually only around 10-20% lower through this period. If we all car shared even just once a week, that could reduce the amount of commuting traffic on our roads by the same amount throughout the year. Car share every day and between you and your companion, you are reducing your mileage by 50%. The principal is quite simple, really …. less cars on the road results in less congestion.
Minimise parking demands
Whether at our workplaces or in our city centres, a shortage of parking spaces is an issue many of us frequently face. It’s a challenge for individuals, and a challenge for the businesses who employ us. Sharing a journey to work by car with a colleague helps to minimise the demand for parking spaces, making this limited commodity easier to manage, and retaining it’s use for those who need it the most.
Find a Car Share Companion
Check out our post on finding a car share companion and see how easy it is to find others looking to share a journey by car in the area around your new home.
Of course the commute isn’t the only car journey you could share. Could you share your journey to the football at the weekend, to college, to a festival, to University at the start of term? Journey matching websites help you to find a travel companion whatever the nature of your trip, and however frequent it may be.