Click above to Start Carsharing.

WHY JOIN THE CAR SHARE SCHEME?

• Car sharing saves you money. Sharing cars undercuts the cost of nearly all other transport methods. By sharing your car with one other person to work every day you could save yourself on average between £500 and £1000 per year.
• Traffic congestion is increasing to the point of peak-hour gridlock in major cities. Road traffic is set to increase by up to 50% by 2026. Traffic delays cost the country £15 billion per year. The growing environmental concerns are outweighed by our wish to retain the flexibility of car-ownership. Car sharing reduces congestion and pollution.
• Public transport is not an option for many people. Car sharing facilitates the integration of public and private transport and provides a real solution to the lack of public transport in rural areas.
• Fuel costs are rising along with work-based car parking charges. Parking space is becoming more and more scarce. Car sharing reduces fuel costs as well as reducing parking problems.

Save money whilst keeping your car. Halve road traffic and save time. Look after the environment for future generations.

You are not expected to want to share a car on all your journeys but you should consider sharing a car on all pre-planned trips. Such as

• getting to work
• doing the weekly shop
• getting to the children to school
• going to the match at the weekend
• travelling to a festival, big event or show

WHAT ARE THE FINANCIAL BENEFITS TO CAR SHARING?
The table below will help you see the approximate costs of running your car.

Engine Capacity

Simplifying the numbers:

An average car's fuel costs 10p per mile. Liftshare recommends that passengers should pay 5p per mile per person.

• Therefore as a driver, giving one person a lift will halve your fuel costs!
• Giving 2 people a lift will cover your fuel costs!
• Giving 3 people a lift will start to repay some of the additional costs of running your car!
• And as a passenger, paying 5p per mile means you can travel 100 miles for only £5!

Liftshare recommends that:
If you're a driver you should reasonably expect a passenger to contribute to half of your fuel and car-parking costs. If you're a passenger you should reasonably expect to pay a driver the above costs. This will be pro rata for more than one passenger. Drivers and passengers should agree terms at the outset, including frequency of payment.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
Your search request is entered free and without obligation in the Liftshare database. Drivers do not have to pay any costs at all. On the contrary if you find one or more passengers you can regain part of your travelling expenses. Passengers who find a driver would pay them for the lift.

WHAT ARE THE INSURANCE IMPLICATIONS?

According to the Association of British Insurers, participating in the lift-share scheme will not invalidate drivers' motor insurance. Drivers in doubt should contact their insurers. Sharing cars and sharing the cost should not increase your insurance cost, however charging your passengers more than their share of the running cost can invalidate your cover.

WHAT ABOUT SAFETY?

Liftshare.com is purely a matching service and cannot take responsibility for the actions of matched parties.

However, every effort is made to protect your identity at the outset. All members' details are stored securely in the database and only the individuals' intended travel information and email numbers can be accessed online. Your email address is kept hidden at all times. The only information that is visible to other users is your 'usually called' name, your smoking preference, and the journey details you added.

Having selected a suitable travelling match you should contact your potential travelling companion on their given e-mail number. Express your interest in travelling together giving further details about your planned journey and either ask them to e-mail you back or give them your contact number to confirm the lift share. For security reasons, Liftshare recommends that you do not exchange home addresses. It is a good idea to meet up before hand in a public place (such as the EMA Terminal building) to discuss the lift arrangement. Initially it may be a good idea to arrange the pick up point to be in a public location such as a train or bus station.

Before leaving home you could tell someone the name of the person that you are going with and where you are going. Write down their details and check that it matches your driver/passenger. The decision as to whether to take a passenger/get in the car is entirely up to you. You are under no obligation to go ahead with the lift share.

Check their ID and show them yours. Passports are obviously the most secure but alternatively ask for another recognised form of ID - For example a valid EMA ID Card and a driving licence. (You should match the name of the driving licence to the name on the card.)

If after a time you feel more secure about the lift arrangements and have agreed to continue on a longer-term basis you may wish to pick up / drop off from your house if more convenient.

In order to ensure your safety you should follow some common-sense guidelines:

• Only accept a passenger or accept a lift with a driver who is a member of liftshare.com with membership confirmation.
• Contact in the first instance will be by e-mail. When you have agreed journey requirements then exchange telephone numbers and finalise travel arrangements (you may want their work telephone number).
• Tell a friend or relative about your match (you could even meet them beforehand with someone else).
• Take ID (EMA ID Card / driving licence / passport) and membership confirmation with you and expect to see some form of ID from the match person. A Utilities bill is useful to confirm addresses.
• Passengers should request the registration number, colour, make and model of the driver's car.
• Drivers are requested to show passengers their insurance and MOT certificates.

Remember, we get on board buses, trains, taxis and sit next to strangers all the time without any problems. People joining this scheme are likely to be of the same mind and together we will benefit the environment and ourselves.

Please take a few minutes to log any regular or one off journeys that you are planning and see for yourself how easily you can be put in contact with other travellers.

At no time are you under any obligation to share a journey. Entering your journey will simply show you if any of our members are going the same way as you - giving you a new alternative way to travel.

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