The concept of a car share is not a new one but one which is being encouraged as a way to reduce congestion and pollution. To car share simply means to travel with at least one other person whether it be to work, the shops or school, and it can also be known as a lift share or car pool.
Some employers run car share schemes to encourage their employees to commute with someone else. From the company’s point of view this has the added benefit of reducing the number of parking spaces required for staff. Companies such as Boots, Orange and Prudential have pioneered the idea of a car share scheme with excellent results.
If you wish to car share, however, it does not necessarily have to be with someone who works for the same company. You could also car share with someone who works in the same vicinity, and don’t forget the option of car sharing for other trips from travelling to events to doing the weekly shop. Car Share and National Car Share are two national websites which you can join as a way of finding people with whom to share. www.carpooling.com is a similar site which also offers the option of finding lifts across Europe as well as within the UK. As Europe's largest carpooling network, €720 million and 530,000 tons of CO2 have been saved in the last ten years!
The government has encouraged the practice of car sharing with a dedicated car-share motorway lane (also known as an HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lane) on a mile-long stretch at the junction of the M62 with the M606, which was completed in 2008. Other similar plans for the M1 were shelved, however, in 2008, although the government has said that further use of car-share lanes has not been ruled out. Lanes like these are already found in Europe and America but, until the M62/M606 car-share lane, there have only been three short stretches of car share lane on local authority roads in England. For more information visit the Highways Agency
Source www.highways.gov.uk 2011
