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Car Sharing is also known as liftsharing or ridesharing (not to be confused with car clubs – a form of local short-term hire). Car sharing is when two or more people share a car and travel together. One of the people travelling is usually the owner of the vehicle and the other(s) usually make a contribution towards fuel costs. It allows people to benefit from the convenience of the car, whilst alleviating the associated problems of congestion and pollution.
There has been some debate about whether encouraging people to car share might take them away from using public transport, in a number of academic papers. The recent DFT Smarter Choices Report says that car sharing can help people with the transition from private sole-car use to using public transport. They also note that in the Milton Keynes scheme, car sharers have been offered reduced fares on the buses and an increase in bus use was reported.
The two can be complementary: car club vehicles could be used for shared trips, and to facilitate this a car club could join as a corporate member of a rideshare scheme, allowing members to arrange shared journeys through the car share website. In addition, a car club vehicle could be used to take commuters to and from the nearest transport hub in a rural area, and be free for use by other club members during the day and evening. Alternatively a car club vehicle used for commuting could be available for daytime business trips. The integration of car sharing and car club membership can provide a viable alternative to car ownership for some people.
Security should always be a key part of any car share arrangement: identity checks need to be in place to ensure that driver and passengers are certain that they are both genuine ridesharers. The major car share companies take security very seriously, and provide guidelines to members, although they cannot accept any liability for any problems which may arise.
Law: from a legal point of view, the driver is not permitted to make a profit from providing a lift; however, the contribution from passengers can include an appropriate amount towards depreciation and wear and tear. ‘Fares’ must be decided in advance, and the driver is not permitted to act as a taxi, picking up strangers along the route
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