Car Sharing – Saving Your Bank Balance And The Planet

It may not be quite as much fun as Peter Kay’s Bafta-winning Car Share but sharing lifts to work with a colleague has much to recommend it.

If you’re punctual, sociable and can bear to be near other people early in the morning, then it might well be the answer to your commuting woes.

Environmental concerns, unreliable public transport and motoring costs are all good reasons for teaming up with a co-worker and driving to and from your workplace together.

Sharing a car on your commute means that’s one less vehicle on the road, so you’re effectively halving emissions levels and reducing traffic congestion. And, if you don’t need your own car during the working day to do your job, it seems pointless leaving it sitting in a car park doing nothing if there are alternatives.  

Public transport should be a preferred option for getting to and from work, but unfortunately the quality of service in many areas across the UK leaves much to be desired.

Recent surveys have shown that bus passengers are generally happy with the cost and reliability of their local bus service. But rail commuters throughout the country – fed up with time table changes, price hikes, cancelled trains and no seats – are being forced back into their cars.

By opting to share their cars, commuters are making notable financial savings, and not just by splitting the cost of fuel.  Allowing for car parking and annual running costs, some city commuters are managing to cut their travel bills by about £1000 a year.  

And, assuming you get on with the person or people you travel with, car sharing is good for your mental state too. It can be nice to have some company on your journey to work.  There will be no worrying if your train’s going to show up – plus by only driving some of the time, you don’t have the stress of negotiating rush hour traffic every single working day.

Encouraging staff to car share is a sound move for employers too. Apart from freeing up car parking spaces, supporting car sharing enhances a company’s green credentials and corporate social responsibility.

It can also promote workplace bonding and team building, especially if the colleagues don’t work in the same section and wouldn’t normally come into contact with each other.

With networks like liftshare.com helping people to arrange lifts with like-minded people, this alternative way of getting to and from work is gaining popularity in today’s rapidly growing sharing economy.  Several councils across the UK have already set up their own schemes, not only for their own staff but employees of other businesses in their area.

So, if you know of someone who lives near you and works similar hours, then perhaps you could set up your own car sharing arrangement. It could help save your bank balance and the planet.