If you drive less than 10,000 miles a year, sharing a car with others is a good way to get the benefits of driving a car, without any of the hassle of owning a car (or having to sit next to a motormouth each day, as with conventional lift-sharing).
Companies like Co-Wheels (a social enterprise) offer modern hybrid cars that you rent by the hour, and the company pays for everything else: the car, maintenance, cleaning, road tax, insurance and even pre-paid fuel & breakdown cards in the glovebox).
Peer-to-peer car-sharing clubs like Turo let car-owners earn up to £6000 a year passive income, by letting others share use of their vehicle (fully insured).
Car-sharing does not just free up funds for you, but helps to reduce road traffic. Most people’s cars sit on the road for 96% of the time. Car-sharing clubs means each vehicle is mostly driving around, freeing up 19 out of 20 car parking spaces.
This also helps to reduce the monopoly of expensive car parks (and hospitals that charge a fortune for people visiting sick relatives).
Find People to (safely) Car Share With
Liftshare is England’s main car-sharing website. Although many people prefer to join car-sharing clubs, some people prefer to lift-share (especially if you don’t drive yourself).
This popular way of getting to work was made famous, in the wonderfully sweet TV comedy, with Peter Kay and Sian Gibson.
This site is used by over 700 corporate communities, as well as private individuals. Use the savings calculator to see how much you could save (an average of around £1000 as a rule). Of course the other benefit is that sharing cars gets more vehicles off the road, to reduce road traffic accidents and carbon emissions.
To get started, you list your profile, then simply start looking for people to share a lift with. In most cases, a driver’s insurance is not affected with car-sharing (as long as no profit is made, but do please check.
How to Safely Share Lifts
Of course, the main concern (apart from being stuck with a motormouth on a journey, but simply don’t share again!) is safety. Here are LiftShare’s tips to keep safe:
- Don’t exchange your full name or address before meeting (in a public place, letting others know where and when you are going). On meeting exchange ID (passport or driving license). And in the case of the driver, share your vehicle registration document.
- Lifeshare has a secure messaging service, to let you use before you feel secure. It only shows the first part of your postcode and street name. Your number is only shared, once a booking is confirmed.
- If you don’t feel comfortable, there is no obligation to go through with the lift, even if it’s been agreed.
- The site allows you to review lift-sharers, so others can book, based on feedback of other members.
In Europe, Bla Bla Car is the main car-sharing site (set up by friends in France who needed to find lifts). It also offers affordable bus routes, to let you travel cheaply from city to city. We looked up a ticket from London to Manchester that cost around £16.
