Photo courtesy of 2Carshare.com

Description

2carshare.com The 2carshare site is a joint initiative by the four councils in the former Avon area which aims to get fewer cars on the roads. 2carshare.com allows members to search a huge database and find out if there is a potential lift-share on their route. The site is operated by liftshare.com and all members sit within this family.

Bristol, B&NES, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire all suffer from heavy commuter congestion, which affects air quality and the financial performance of the city. Its aim thus is to promote all forms of transport and integrate both public and private transport modes. It's about giving people alternatives to the more traditional forms of getting from A to B while promoting the environment at the same time.

It is absolutely free and has been built and designed for every possible user. Whether you are a driver/passenger or if you would simply be interested in finding an alternative to getting about this particular region then this is the site for you.

Why car share?

There are numerous benefits to car sharing:

  • Beat the credit crunch; cut down on car costs;
  • The average person can save up to £1000 (approx. €1175) a year;
  • Make new friends;
  • There are over 38 million empty seats on our roads every year;
  • If all motorists car shared one day a week congestion would be reduced by 20%;
  • Use the 2+ lanes and save time on your journey;
  • This would mean less congestion, less pollution and fewer parking problems; and
  • Many companies are introducing priority parking bays and other benefits for car sharers.

(All figures from Car Plus/liftshare)

One of the councils involved in this project, South Gloucestershire, has also introduced dedicated lanes on some roads for the use of cars (or other vehicles) with more than one person travelling in the car. ‘2+ Lanes’ are otherwise available only to buses, coaches and other vehicles carrying two or more people, motorcycles and pedal cycles.

Dr. Keith Tovey, Energy Science Director for CRed and Reader of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia has calculated that if the average car occupancy could be increased from where it currently stands at 1.7 occupants per car to 2 people per car then the UK could save over 9.9 million tonnes of CO2 each year. (Source: http://www.liftshare.org/news.asp?ns=17&tb=g)

Links and other sources