Why?
Carpooling involves sharing a car with other people who are making the same journey. Sharing a journey reduces the number of cars on the road, which will in turn reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality. You can also save money by splitting the cost of parking and petrol with those in your carpool. The more people in your carpool, the less money you will have to pay.
Air pollution that is derived from vehicle emissions is linked to a number of health concerns, including respiratory diseases and allergies. By car sharing, you are reducing these health risks for yourself and your community. You may even find carpooling less stressful than commuting alone. The companionship can really help reduce the stress of the morning commute and allow you to make new friends in the process.
How?
Joining an existing carpool
If you’d like to join an existing carpool, there are a selection of websites that advertise these. The websites require you to input details about your intended journey. You will then be shown a selection of carpools that match your details. Common carpooling websites include:
- liftshare.com/uk/community/camshare – this website advertises within Cambridgeshire and allows you to join specific carpools based on your location or work organisation.
- blablacar.co.uk
- carpling.com/uk
- carpoolworld.com
If you’d prefer not to use carpooling websites, you can always get in contact with your friends, neighbours and work colleagues and see if they are aware of any local carpools that you could join. Alternatively, you could decide to set up your own.
Creating your own carpool
Before setting up your own carpool, ask around to see how much interest there is within your social circle. You can advertise on social media and within your workplace to reach more people. Bear in mind that carpooling is most useful to people who live in areas with poor public transport networks.
To avoid future misunderstandings, make the rules of your carpool clear before setting it up. This includes how money is to be divided between people. Make sure that those in your carpool are aware of pick-up and drop-off points. You might consider creating a Facebook or WhatsApp group to keep everybody informed of any changes that occur to the journey schedule.
