Car sharing is when two or more people join together and share a car on a journey rather than doing the journey separately in two or more cars. The most popular car shares tend to be for the commute to work, but care shares can also be used for the school run, weekly shopping trips or travelling to an event, festival or show.

Britain is notorious for its congested roads and with more and more people choosing to travel to work by car, the commute to work is set to get longer and more congested. It has been estimated that over half of the vehicles on the road during peak times contain only 1 person and it has been suggested that if every person car shared just one day a week, the amount of congestion on the roads would be reduced by 20-25%.

There are many benefits of car sharing; firstly, it is your opportunity to do your bit to help the environment with car sharing helping to reduce pollution and carbon dioxide emissions. Car sharing can also reduce your travel costs and reduce congestion which could shorten your journey times. Car sharing can make your journey to work much more pleasant allowing you the chance to read a book, apply your make up or have a chat when you would normally be concentrating on driving. Car sharing can also reduce the stress caused by driving and could give you a calmer start to your day.

Car sharing is also a great way to get kids to school, sharing with a family who lives nearby can give your children the chance to get the know people in the local area as well as giving them someone to chat to on the way to and from school. If you car shared with another mum and take it in turns to transport the children to school you can half the amount of journeys you make every week.

Car sharing is a great way to get to work in the comfort of a car yet still be environmentally friendly. Car sharing can work well and provide big savings if parking, fuel costs and driving is shared. There are many internet based companies who offer a free matching service in order to find someone who is completing a similar journey to you. Car sharing is thought by many to be the only way forward to help the environment, cut journey times and keep traffic moving on the roads.