Interest in car sharing surges in response to fuel crisis
Car-sharing platform Liftshare has seen a 79% increase in people registering to share their journeys, as the average price of fuel threatens to reach unprecedented highs of £2 per litre.
The average prices of petrol and diesel have hit 161.1p and 170.1p per litre respectively, leaving many turning to car sharing to reduce their travel costs.
Data from emissions reduction platform Mobilityways, part of the Liftshare Group, revealed 91% of employees could share a lift with a colleague.
‘Fuel poverty is a real problem that threatens to exacerbate the spatial inequalities already experienced across the UK. People living in rural areas underserved by local transport are heavily reliant on their cars to access essential services. Employees who cannot work from home will also be disproportionately affected. These price increases aren’t sustainable for the majority of us, and it makes complete sense to reduce that burden by sharing your journeys when you can,’ said Ali Clabburn, Chairman of the Liftshare Group.
He added: ‘There’s huge latent potential for sustainable commuting. There are 47m empty seats on our roads every rush hour. These journeys not only generate 18 billion kg of CO2e every year but are also incredibly inefficient. This is a real wasted opportunity to reduce fuel costs. Sharing a car journey is twice as efficient and half as expensive as driving alone. Liftshare users save thousands of pounds in fuels costs every year.’
The Liftshare platform has over 700,000 members across the UK, who have collectively saved over a billion miles of car journeys over the last decade.
Liftshare believe that as fuel prices reach unprecented levels, there is an opportunity for more people to change their commuting behaviours to reduce their emissions and save money.
Ali Clabburn commented: ‘The pandemic has shown we have the propensity for change and the fuel crisis is another opportunity to change our travel behaviours for the better.’
Photo by Darwin Vegher