Lift Sharing

With the cost of petrol continually rising and environmental issues at the forefront of a lot of people's minds, liftsharing is a great option, lessening the amount of driver only cars on the road and enabling two or more people to do one journey.

So what is the best way to find a lift? We have had a look at various web sites and by far the best is Liftshare.com set up by Ali Clabburn in 1998. The site now has over 130,000 registered members so finding someone to share your commute or a one-off journey with should take you just a few minutes.

The Benefits of Lift Sharing

Individuals, employers, communities and councils are being urged to encourage car sharing schemes. The numerous benefits include:

• Reduced petrol costs
• Reduced wear and tear on your vehicle
• Reduced mileage and depreciation
• Reduced space needed for car parking in workplaces
• Reduced traffic congestion in and around offices and work places
• A reduction in the high-level of pollution created by rush-hour commuters
• A reduction in the cost of providing employee parking spaces
• A reduction in morning congestion (kids being taken to school makes up to 15% of morning road traffic)

Statistics

• If everyone who drives to work on their own caught a lift with someone else only once a week, commuting car journeys would be reduced by up to 25%.
• Only a 3.6% increase in car occupancy would have the same impact on C02 levels and road congestion as doubling the number of people who use buses!

Liftshare.com

has been set up as an online car sharing scheme, which actively encourages individuals, communities and employers to consider the benefits of car sharing. Complete the quick and simple registration and get on your way to find free lifts, save money and help the environment.

Registering

The website is simple to use; it just takes a few minutes to register some basic personal details such as:

• Name
• Contact details
• How you would like to be contacted

You then need to register your journey and will be asked details such as:

• Location of start point
• Whether you are offering or seeking a lift
• How often you make the journey
• The days and times you make it

Once you have completed registration and activated you account, you can match yourself with potential drivers and passengers in your area. You can start finding travel companions to either give a lift to or take a lift with - all completely free of charge.

With over 132,000 members (increasing by about 300 a day) and over 50 million individual trips registered for the next 12 months, there is bound to be someone in your area offering or seeking a lift. The site also has a liftshare 'Groups' feature where you can search and join either a private and public group for lifts in your area or for certain events. For example, there are groups set up for lifts to festivals, football matches and student communities.

Using Liftshare.com

I first heard about the site when I was at university in Bristol and it was perfect for my student budget. I lived quite far out from campus so it was great to get regular lifts in on my lecture days with other students and out and about to sports and social events. After Uni I bought a car and was able to return the favour of giving lifts to other liftshare members now and again.

I've since moved to London and sold my car but I am still registered on Liftshare and any time I am planning a weekend away or back down to Bristol to visit friends I will try and arrange a lift down on the Friday and back on the Sunday. There's often people going back and forth and it's great being able to save on the expensive train fares.

I would highly recommend registering on liftshare.org. Why not get in touch if you have used Liftshare and I will publish your comments here.

Other Features

Other useful features of the site include:

• FREE to use
• Journey planner
• Live traffic information
• Useful travel links
• Facility to find walking and cycle buddies or even individuals looking to share a taxi

National liftshare Day

National liftshare Day 2008 will take place on the 9th June, with the aim of promoting car-sharing, both nationally and locally, as a cost effective and environmentally friendly form of transport, which is available to everyone free of charge.

There are over 38 million empty seats on the UK's roads every day. Why not "make the most of it" by sharing lifts?

Liftshare.org have a target of getting a 25% increase in car occupancy on National liftshare Day, which would cut emissions by 20% for the day.