This month Cecilia Bromley-Martin from liftshare, explains the benefits of car sharing...
The idea of car-sharing has suddenly taken off over recent months, with literally hundreds of people around the UK signing up to give it a go every day. But how does it work? What are the real advantages? And can it really help to make your lifestyle greener and more ethical?
 liftshare.com was founded ten years ago by a student at Bristol University. From humble beginnings as a student noticeboard, it has grown to be the largest car-sharing network in the UK (and most probably in the world). Over 280,000 individuals have registered to date – a number that is increasing rapidly, with about 300 new members signing up every day.
This daily average shot up over the summer, as fuel price increases started to hit drivers’ pockets hard. Over 15,000 new members joined in June alone. And certainly car-sharing can have a very positive impact on your finances: the typical commuter who car-shares every day saves about £1,000 a year. But many members are also motivated to join because of the dramatic effect that car-sharing can have on congestion and their carbon footprints.
Because that same typical car-sharer mentioned above can also expect to cut their annual CO2 emissions by one tonne, which is a significant slice of most people’s annual carbon footprint. Members of liftshare are currently taking 40,000 cars off the road every day, sharing an estimated 63 million miles per year (or 263 trips to the moon!); it would take 6.5 million trees to save the equivalent CO2. One member, Emma, puts it succinctly on behalf of thousands of others: “I’m really proud to car-share. It’s so important that we take responsibility for our environment.”
Other members have taken a step further. “I have written on a number of occasions to the local press about the scheme,” says Joe in Dorset. “And two years ago I appeared on a BBC2 programme with my then car-share partner, when we attempted to promote the idea of car-sharing as one solution to lessening the effects of man’s poisoning of the planet.”
In 1965, the average car occupancy was two, but since then it has gradually declined to the current level of 1.6. That may not sound too dramatic a figure, until you realise that it leaves a staggering 38 million empty car seats on the UK’s roads every single day. And at the same time that car occupancy levels are dropping, road usage is increasing every year, with the total volume of traffic in Britain increasing by 14% since 1997.
This is not the way to go about fulfilling Britain’s commitment to the Kyoto Protocol of reducing domestic CO2 emissions by 20% below 1990 levels by 2010. If we could raise car occupancy levels by just 2%, we would see a reduction of five billion kilometres of road travel. And just think what that would do to the congestion we fight our way through into work each day! Journeys would be fewer, quicker and less polluting.
“Car-sharing really opens your eyes to the thousands of cars trundling up and down Britain’s road with just one occupant,” observes Preston-based member, Norman. “Day after day, they take up the same fifty feet of highway, probably tailing the same car as the day before. It’s madness. By car-sharing, we could easily halve the amount of traffic on our nation’s rush-hour roads and stop covering our countryside with yet more hardcore.”
Another bonus of car-sharing is the social aspect. We all recognise that communities aren’t what they used to be, but through being linked up on the website, members are becoming friends with people in their neighbourhood whom they never would have otherwise met, and liftshare staff often get feedback about great friendships made and social lives improved. “I’ve become such good friends with Adam that he’s teaching me to play golf and I’m going to his wedding,” says Phil in Norfolk. “As a direct result of my offering a lift via the website, I’ve helped someone out, made friends and been humiliated on the driving range!”
“The company is great,” agrees another Emma. “By chance we have a lot in common and we share ideas and knowledge about everything in life. In particular, we exchange knowledge of the local area. For the first time since we moved to Swindon two and a half years ago, I have booked tickets to the local theatre, ordered a box of organic fruit and veg and sought out the local outdoor swimming pool - all via recommendation of my liftshare partner!”
It’s a win-win situation for all concerned – and the concept is being embraced more widely all the time. Why not give it a try? Membership is completely free, and signing up to liftshare.com couldn’t be simpler. You just register your details and your journey, and then do a search for someone going the same way as you. The journey-matching success rate is increasing all the time as the number of registered journeys grows, and new members are often surprised at how quickly they find someone to share with. The male / female membership ratio is almost exactly 50:50 every month too, but if you are a woman and feel nervous at the idea of sharing with a stranger (albeit one likely to become a friend!), you can just search among the female members.
 But perhaps you’re one of the lucky ones, and are already in a position to take the even greener option of walking or cycling to work. If so, you might have been put off by the idea of doing it alone – especially in the darker months.
If you want to give it a go, but would prefer a bit of company to brighten that journey, liftshare also has a smaller but growing membership of their BikeBUDi.com and WalkBUDi.com sites, which are worth investigating. Again, membership is completely free – you just register your journey, and see if someone else is walking or riding the same way.
With any of the three sites, it only takes a few moments to sign up, and it could have more benefits than you ever imagined…!
For details of other car sharing schemes in your area, take a look at our motoring page.
© Ethical Earth Limited / liftshare.com 1 October 2008
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