Why Car Share?
By Alexandra Gubbins, Fri Dec 9th

Around 60% of drivers of the 31 million cars on Britain's roadstravel alone, and with the number increasing every year, theidea of car sharing as an option is being promoted by CountyCouncils as well as Friends of the Earth and Carplus.

Car sharing, also known as carpooling, is when two or morepeople travel together by car, and the passenger generally makesa donation towards running costs. There are a number oforganisations, such as www.liftshare.co.uk, that enable peopleliving in the same area who make similar journeys to makecontact with each other, encouraging more participation in liftsharing.

The number of people taking part in car sharing arrangements isrelatively small but increasing, and supporters of car sharinginitiatives hope that this will become a much more popular wayof travelling in the future. Why car share? -Car sharingreduces your travel costs. By car sharing for a year, theaverage driver would save £1000 on fuel and parking costs. Ifcar sharers alternate with whose turn it is to drive, the amountof wear and tear that happens to both cars is halved and thecars will better keep their value. -Car sharing reducesemissions. Sharing a car with 1 other person would save 648 kgof carbon dioxide emissions a year, and if half the drivers ofthe UK shared a lift just once a week, would bereduced by 10%. Emissions are a serious problem for both peopleand the environment.

90% of the population in London is caused by cars, and the costof that in human lives is high, with estimatessuggesting that more people die from than from caraccidents. 70% of asthma sufferers believe that makestheir condition worse, and with 5.1 million asthmatics in theUK, anything that can be done to reduce emissions should beencouraged. -Car sharing reduces congestion and parkingproblems. There are massive congestion problems on Britain'smotorways and in and around many towns and cities across the UK,and car sharing would help alleviate the situation. Congestioncosts British businesses a staggering £15 billion every year inlost work hours, and parking

presents a problem for manyemployers.

If the average car occupancy were to increase by half - from1.58 people per car to 2.37 people per car - there would be athird fewer cars on the roads. Many employers who encourage carsharing have found that their car parking problem hasdisappeared with their employees coming to work in one carrather than three.

-Car sharing increases transport options for rural areas. Ruralareas often have little or no access to public transport and itcan be very difficult for people without cars to get around. Carsharing would provide options for these people, who may be ableto share a journey with someone in their neighbourhood.

There have been taxi-sharing initiatives arranged in somevillages, which have had some success, but have yet to widelycatch on.

-Car sharing is a good way to meet new people. It often worksbest in situations such as travelling to and from work or doingthe school run where there are lots of people entering andleaving the area at the same time. People can get to knowcolleagues that they would not otherwise have met, as well asneighbours and other people who live nearby.

-Car sharing can reduce car insurance. If two people alternatewho drives and who is a passenger, they can both get cheaper carinsurance because they will be doing fewer miles a year.

The reason for this is that, although the car occupants are justas likely to be in a car accident, both cars are less likely tobe involved in an accident if they are being driven less. Thus,car insurance companies appreciate this lower risk and lowertheir prices appropriately.

Car sharing is good for health, money and the environment, andis a good way to meet more neighbours. Trials of new lanes justfor car sharers are being introduced on motorways such as theM1, as similar principles have been successfully applied inAmerica and Australia, so car sharing could get people to workquicker too.

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About the author:Editorial notes: Duck2water Car Insurance provide fast, freequotes for cheap car insurance in a matter of seconds - just goto www.duck2watercarinsurance.co.uk or call 01243 523306.

Author: Alexandra Gubbins of www.duck2watercarinsurance.co.uk