5 reasons why you should car share

This year, we’ve been running a series of activities as part of our transport project to inspire and support people to reduce their car use for short journeys. This includes route planning, fuel-efficient driver training, electric vehicle information events, cycle training, a free bike borrowing scheme and promotion of the Tripshare Fife car-sharing scheme.

In this blog, I am going to give five reasons why you should consider car sharing.

Reason 1 – Meet new people

Meeting new people can sometimes be hard, especially if you are like me and are a shy person. If you work in a big office, car sharing could be a very good way to break the ice with people. The commute to, or back home from, work can be a great chance for you to get to know people. It can also help with team bonding.

Reason 2 – Help the environment

By getting more people into the same car and reducing the number of cars on the road, we will help reduce carbon emissions going into the atmosphere.

Other environmental benefits of car sharing are:

• Fewer cars on the road will lead to less air pollution
• Less demand for gas and oil
• With fewer cars on the road, there will be less need for road expansions and building parking spaces

According to Liftshare, if half of UK motorists received a lift one day a week, congestion and pollution would be reduced by 10% and traffic jams by 20%.

Reason 3 – Save money

Car sharing is a great way to take cars off the road, and reduce the amount you spend on travel at the same time. If you have more people in your car going to work, the football or a  gig, then you can split the cost of petrol between the people in the car, thus saving each of you money. Also, if you are going to a place where you need to pay for parking, then you can split that cost too. On average a car sharer in Fife will save around £1050 per year.

Reason 4 – Less Stress

Driving can be very stressful. Sharing the driving and spending more time as a passenger could help reduce your stress levels. Having someone else in the car with you whilst you’re driving can also make a journey much more pleasant!

Reason 5 – Less traffic

Car sharing takes cars off the road, helping reduce air pollution and also helping to reduce congestion. Less congestion = less waiting in traffic jams. A win-win for everyone concerned.

Try car sharing yourself

Get started with car sharing by signing up to the Tripshare Fife website. It is free to join and you can search to offer, or look for, a lift. All members’ details are stored securely in a database and only travel information can be viewed by other members. It’s down to you and the other car sharers to decide how you will split the costs, but Liftshare can help you calculate how much you could save. You could also consider setting up a car sharing group for your workplace, community or organisation.

Want to know more? Read Liftshare’s FAQs for more information about how to car share, the benefits and safety tips and advice.

Fuel Efficient Driver Training Experience

As part of our Transport project, we’re running free Fuel Efficient Driver Training with the Energy Saving Trust  to help people save fuel, and money, by learning tips to help them drive more efficiently. Volunteer Laura recently took part in one of the sessions. She shares her experience in her latest blog below.

I recently attended a Fuel Efficient Driver Training session, organised by Greener Kirkcaldy. I was told that I was going to learn how to save money on fuel, but wasn’t sure what this would involve.

The session itself lasted 50 minutes and the instructor was great in assuring me that it wasn’t a test; simply a way to look at how you drive and learn of any changes you may be able to make which would help you to save fuel.

The session involves, initially, a 10-15 minute circuit around the perimeter of Kirkcaldy town centre, with the instructor only speaking to direct you. After this, you stop and look at your mpg (miles per gallon) for your drive. He then advises you of some things that he noted you could do differently that would potentially help increase your mpg. These changes aren’t anything drastic, just simple things such as:

• Changing gear based on the rev counter instead of listening out for the engine to tell you when to change
• Using the momentum of the road to bring you to a slow stop at traffic lights
• Making use of the car’s stop/start feature

You then drive the same circuit again, taking on board the advice of the instructor and compare the difference in your mpg at the end.

I found that I did improve my mpg on the second circuit. The instructor was very friendly and I found it very useful to learn some simple changes I can make that will help me to save fuel. I would definitely recommend this training to anyone who drives, as everyone can benefit from learning something.