liftshare news

Half a million people sign up to share cars

Wed, 02 May 2012 09:35:29 EST

When Ali Clabburn pinned a scribbled note to a student notice board, asking for a lift home one Christmas holidays, little did he imagine that he was starting a car-sharing network which half a million people would join!

With 500,000 people deciding they'd rather share their cars than travel alone, it's clear that our attitudes to driving have changed. And while there are loads of benefits to lift-sharing, it’s those spiralling fuel prices which are the greatest impetus to behaviour change.

"As petrol prices go up, so attitudes towards sharing lifts evolve," says Ali. "Over 70,000 new members joined the liftshare network last year, and we expect this trend to continue.

"With daily headlines announcing that filling your car costs more than the weekly shop, or that petrol prices are rising three times faster than incomes, a growing number of people are finding that lift-sharing is the only viable way to get to work. But it is a real landmark to see our 500,000th member join the network!"

This car-sharing website is part of the nationwide liftshare network. There is at least one potential journey-match for over 86% of commutes registered on the network, although many have dozens. So this is the best place to be to find someone else going your way...!

You can beat the fuel strikes

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 11:29:59 EST

The queues are already snaking out of the petrol stations…

The warnings are that petrol could increase by 10p a litre…

It makes sense really: car-share with just one other person, and you will be halving that journey's fuel costs, and only having to queue half as often!

Are you a Superscrimper?

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 09:58:11 EST

If you are, you probably saw the Channel 4 programme last night.

But if you haven’t discovered it yet, Superscrimpers provides top tips for saving money in these economically difficult times.

Yesterday it looked at the huge amount of money people can save just by sharing their cars. You might like to check it out (see about 15 minutes in) - and then sign yourself up to this website (it's totally free) to start sharing and saving!

Looking to spend less in 2012?

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:55:08 EST

We all know that the new year can often bring with it a bit of a squeeze, after an indulgent festive period! And 2012 is no exception. Unfortunately though, it’s likely to continue past January...

Rail fares increase by 5.9% this month; petrol sales slumped in the first nine months of 2011 and look set to fall further as prices continue to rise; family incomes are impacted by salary squeezes and rising bills.

Why not make car-sharing a New Year’s resolution for 2012?

Regularly sharing your commute with just one other person can typically save you about £800 a year - not to mention provide great company for those gloomy winter days!

Be safer on the roads - don't travel alone

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:03:31 EST

As Road Safety Week begins, did you know that car-sharing can help make your journey safer?

Studies consistently show that the presence of a passenger in a car can significantly reduce the risk of road accidents.

Privilege Insurance found that having more than one person in a car improves driver concentration and reduces the risk of road crash by a half. (One in ten drivers say they have been involved in a road traffic accident when driving alone, compared to just one in 20 who were driving with a passenger.)

Our members back up these findings. One of them, Andy, admitted: "I get very bored and start falling asleep without having someone to talk to." While Glen said: "One of the greatest advantages of car-sharing is being able to take a break from the driving now and then, and if the week has been particularly tough, take a short snooze in the passenger seat."

Make sure your journeys are as safe as possible by sharing them.

"I save the equivalent of a £3,000 pay-rise!"

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 08:18:31 EST

"No matter how much you're doing to save on petrol and reduce your carbon footprint, there's always room for improvement," says Norman Hadley.

"My car-share team has been ploughing the same furrow every day for years, oblivious to the existence of another carpool doing a very similar journey.

"But my group was losing numbers. One of the guys got a new job closer to home and another retired, which left just two of us, and the carpool's efficiency started to fall.

"We could have stuck as a pair, but we decided to look for new liftshare matches. We soon made contact with another long-established carpool that had very similar start and finish times to us.

"The merged pool now has seven members - enough to guarantee that at least one car-full can be assembled every day, minimising costs, carbon and congestion. Some of the members work part-time or are away on business but on the rare days that more than five seats are needed, two cars can soon be mustered.

"We're trying to take the slogan 'Better Together' to its logical conclusion. Short of hiring a minibus, there’s probably not much more we could do!"

As a result of Norman's new car-share arrangements, he's calculated that his annual saving is the equivalent to a £3,000 pay-rise.

How much could you save?

Did you party like it was 1999?

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 11:18:05 EST

How did you bring in the new millennium? Huge party? A quiet romantic evening? Maybe you were in the Land of Nod when the year 2000 made its grand entrance.

It doesn't seem that long ago really. And yet you were only paying 70p for a litre of petrol in those heady days!

Things have really changed over the last decade or so, haven't they? Yet it's easy to keep paying 1999 fuel prices – all you need to do is car-share with just one other person.

It's liftshare Week from 3-7 October. As you can see, this year's campaign takes a light-heartedly nostalgic look back at how much we used to pay to fill our cars, and how we still can if we just car-share with 1, 2 or 3 other people.

Sign up for free, have a search for others going the same way as you, and send them a request to share. It’s quick, it's easy, and if you do it between 26 September and 9 October you could even win yourself £250... happy sharing!

Were you cutting edge in 1993?

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 10:40:34 EST

They were awe-inspiring, weren't they? Those first mobile phones. Massive handsets with a great big aerial sticking out of the top. And as for texting – that didn't even exist yet.

Well, while you were showing off your cutting edge technology to your envious mates, you were also paying about 46p for a litre of petrol.

Hard to believe, I know. But remember that you still CAN pay 46p a litre. All you have to do is share your car (and the fuel costs) with two other people!

Not only can car-sharing save you a lot of money, its also great socially.

As Karen said: "It's saved me a fortune and it's very convenient. The friends I've made have an impact outside the liftshare as well: the ripple effect. The website works really well too."

Make sure you get some of that "ripple effect" for yourself in time for liftshare Week (3-7 October)...!

What were you up to in 1983?

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 10:42:30 EST

Remember 1983? If you were around then, you were probably dancing to Michael Jackson's latest hit, Billie Jean. Did you wear ripped sweatshirts or were you more a fan of shoulder pads? Perhaps you were sporting a trendy mullet??

One thing is for sure: if you were driving in 1983, you were only paying about 37p a litre.

But before that brings you close to tears, there’s something you should know: you still CAN effectively pay 37p a litre for petrol, if you just share your car with three other people!

It's liftshare Week from 3-7 October, and we want drivers to relive those petrol prices they used to know back in the 1980s and 1990s, by simply sharing their cars with 1, 2 or 3 other people. Share your commute with just one other person, and you will be leaving your car at home 2 weeks out of every four – typically saving yourself about £800 a year.

Make sure you have found your car-sharer(s) in time for liftshare Week. It couldn’t be easier to discover the huge benefits of car-sharing (financial, social, environmental, stress-reducing). Just sign up to this free website, do a search for others going the same way, and then drop them a line to suggest you try sharing...

Hitch-hiking slumps while online car-sharing takes off

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:26:05 EST

The tradition of hitch-hiking is making way to the modern, online version of thumbing a lift.

An AA poll published today has found that the number of drivers unlikely to stop for a hitch-hiker has increased drastically from 75% to 91% in just two years.

Meanwhile, in the last 24 months, over 126,000 more people have joined car-share schemes within the liftshare network.

Online journey matching is certainly preferable for women. Whilst males are four times more likely to stop (8%) for a hitch-hiker than females (2%), there have been as many women as men join up to the online system.

"Drivers have given thumbs down to hitch-hiking," said The AA/s president, Edmund King. "As teenagers my brothers and I would hitch-hike around the UK and Europe but one rarely sees a hitch-hiker today. Some hikers have swopped their thumbs for a computer mouse in order to lift-share from the comfort of their home rather than taking their chances on a rainy roadside."

"We are seeing hundreds of new matches being made every day on liftshare.com," said liftshare's founder, Ali Clabburn. "I used to hitch a bit, but it is now so easy to find a match online - and it saves a massive amount of time!"

The full AA poll can be viewed here.

Petrol costs are dictating our driving habits

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 17:42:35 EST

Over the last 12 months, a staggering 1.3million drivers have given up driving – caused by an increase in fuel costs of almost one third! You may want to be sitting down to read this: the typical car owner is now spending over £1,700 per year to fill their car.

With motoring costs spiralling, drivers have been forced to change the way they drive – 75% of motorists have changed their behaviour, including driving more slowly. And 26% of motorists have admitted they no longer fill their tanks fully, while some 45% of motorists (or 16.5 million people) are now driving less.

A sharp-minded 7% have identified car-sharing as an easy and ideal alternative to battling the increasing fuel costs.

With more and more people choosing to join the 285,000 members currently on the liftshare network, now is an ideal time to run a search and see if anyone is going your way!

Drivers cutting down on car use - but sharing more

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 08:43:21 EST

An interesting statistic cropped up today...

According to an RAC report, about a third of UK drivers claim they have been forced to cut down on the number of car journeys they make, because of the price of petrol.

Meanwhile, the liftshare network has seen a 32.5% increase of the number of people signing up to car-share so far this year.

When petrol prices rise, drivers start thinking more about how they can still afford to make their journeys. And we always see an increase in the number of people discovering how much they can save by sharing their car.

As Pete O’Connor told us: “I travel between Plymouth and Exeter five times a week for work: that’s 500 miles of driving and 10 hours in the car each week. Car sharing saves me around £140 a month and having some company makes the journeys go far quicker.”

Car insurance rises 40% in a year

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 12:19:49 EST

Insurance premiums are proving the latest motoring cost to break records.

Research from the AA has shown that the typical shop-around comprehensive premium has increased in price by 40% in just 12 months! Younger drivers have faced the brunt of increases, with the typical premium of £2,431 being paid - more than 64% higher than 12 months ago.

The Commons Transport Committee identified fraud and injury claims as among the chief causes of rising premiums. Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance said: "Although the number of collisions on Britain's roads is falling, the number of claims for whiplash injury is rising." According to the Association of British Insurers, for every £1 paid in compensation, a further 87p is paid in legal costs.

Premiums look set to continue to rise throughout 2011; luckily Simon Douglas believes that increases over the rest of the year will be much smaller. One way to cope with these ever-increasing costs of motoring is to save money by car-sharing; so log on and find yourself a match!

Remember how much it cost to fill up ten years ago?

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:59:13 EST

Have a gold star if you said that both diesel and petrol were under 79 pence per litre in March 2001!

Put another way, prices have increased by 74% in a decade. And it costs a staggering £30 more to fill your small family car than it did in 2001. Even just five years ago, the cost of filling up in 2006 was £21 less than it is now.

Fuel prices are beginning to take their toll on motorists, with the breakdown service provider Green Flag stating that the number of fuel "run-outs" increased by 40% in January. This is part of a trend that has seen the number of people who drive off without paying for their fuel reach six a month at each of Britain’s 9,000 filling stations.

Much of the most recent increase in prices has been attributed to soaring oil prices and the increase of VAT in January. A further increase in fuel duty increase is planned for April; there is mounting pressure on the Government to abandon this increase, but no formal announcement has been made.

liftshare stars on ITV's 'Daybreak'!

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 10:47:00 EST

Car-sharing was in the national spotlight this morning, when we found ourselves on the sofa of ITV’s breakfast programme Daybreak.

liftshare founder Ali Clabburn was interviewed as part of a story about the rise in car-sharing as a way to combat record high fuel prices.

As a result of the programme, we’ve already seen a sudden increase in new members joining today. It’s great to see the word about car-sharing getting out there on national television – if you’d like to see the interview with Ali, just click here.

Cutting rural buses will make car-sharing essential

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 13:32:56 EST

Car-sharing is set to become an essential means of rural transport, if seven out of ten councils carry out their plans to cut their bus services.

According to the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT), the cuts will leave many areas totally cut off from public transport.

“We very much support the CBT’s campaign to save the UK’s bus services,” said Ali Clabburn, liftshare’s founder. “But if local authorities do still go ahead and axe these services, bus users throughout the UK will need an affordable alternative.

“Many bus users don’t have access to a car, or can’t afford to drive everywhere. There are free, public car-share schemes throughout the UK which would keep their journeys affordable, safe, sociable and less polluting than driving alone.”

Stuart from Torrington has already found car-sharing to be invaluable where bus routes are lacking. He told us: “When you commute 48 miles to work, it can be hard work - when you have a seizure and can't drive for 12 months, it’s near on impossible. With the buses so rare, car-sharing was my only hope - luckily, the website came through.”

Government urges councils to encourage more car-sharing

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 09:30:39 EST

It's been great to see the Government recognise the financial and environmental importance of car-sharing in its Local Sustainable Transport white paper, which it launched today.

An "unprecedented" £560 million fund was announced to help local councils create growth in the economy and tackle climate change by "going green" on transport. But whilst historically such funds have tended to focus on public transport, walking and cycling, this time the Government also highlighted the significant advantages of sharing a private car as well.

Car-sharing "can help to alleviate the problems of congestion and carbon emissions" said the document, entitled Creating Growth, Cutting Carbon, before making a case study of a very successful regional liftshare scheme. The document went on to add that "eliminating the use of passenger cars altogether would be the wrong approach given that for many people, particularly in rural areas and for medium-distance or multi-leg trips, the car is the only practical choice and will remain so."

Ali Clabburn, founder of liftshare, was very encouraged by the White Paper. "All too often the car is demonised, yet it is only the single-occupancy car which is such an environmentally and financially damaging transport option," he said. "A full car is often the greenest form of motorised transport, and it is reassuring to see the Government recognising this and advocating wider take-up of car-sharing."

52% increase in people asking to share

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 15:47:09 EST

The last 12 months saw a huge increase in the number of people asking others to car-share with them.

In 2010, over 55,000 invitations to share a journey were sent between members of the various car-share schemes on the liftshare network. This was a 52% increase on 2009.

Almost 65 per cent of those journeys are being made daily, which means that liftshare members have taken a further 16,000+ cars off the UK's roads every weekday over the past year.

"With petrol prices steadily increasing, and the recession not making things easier, it's no surprise to see that more and more people are wanting to car-share - although a 55 per cent increase is more than we anticipated!" said founder Ali Clabburn.

"I think we will see share requests continue to increase over the coming months too, as VAT and increased fuel duty kick in, and other commuters are forced off the trains by the big increase in rail fares."

Campaign to increase car-sharing wins national award

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:02:15 EST

The first ever week dedicated to encouraging people to car-share has been named "Marketing Campaign of the Year" by the UK's flagship network for organisations promoting sustainable travel.

liftshare Week won the ACT TravelWise award for its "innovative" and "eye-catching" campaign, which was based on the Wild West "wanted" poster and urged drivers not to be "a lone ranger". It was commended for its innovative approach, strong theme and consistent messages.

"It was fantastic to win this award against such stiff competition," said Communications Manager Cecilia Bromley-Martin. "Although we worked very hard on it, we also had a lot of fun with it - and I think this positive feeling was infectious, and helped make it such a success."

Having received an unprecedented number of entries for this year's awards, the judges called liftshare Week "a thoroughly deserving winner from a very competitive field".

Snow stopping you in your tracks?

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 09:39:03 EST

This weather may make for some picturesque views, but with some parts of the UK coping with up to 25cm of snow, it can cause a lot of problems when you need to be somewhere.

ShareMy4x4.com is a new website which aims to help you get around when the weather takes a turn for the worse.

Four-wheel drives are better equipped for these wintery conditions, and "Share My 4x4" lets you either offer a lift in your 4x4, or search for someone with a 4x4 who's going your way. As ShareMy4x4.com is part of the liftshare network, the website is completely free to use and can help you get around, save money and travel more safely.

"People have missed work and important meetings, and even been stranded overnight in their cars," said liftshare's founder, Ali Clabburn. "According to the Forum of Private Business, a single day of employee absenteeism due to freezing winter conditions could cost the nation at least £230million. So we really need to help each other out, to ensure that the UK is able to carry on as productively as possible during this unexpected weather."

If you are already a member of liftshare.com (or one of liftshare's other schemes), you can still join the "Share My 4x4" group. Just click here, sign in with your usual log-in details, and go to the 'advanced settings' button on 'My Settings' where you can state whether or not you have a 4x4.

BBC meteorologists have predicted that the cold spell could last for a further two weeks. So as the snow is going to be around for a while, take a look and see if you can share a 4x4 journey!

liftshare wins nationwide Contribution to the Community award

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 09:05:41 EST

liftshare - the network providing hundreds of car-sharing schemes around the UK - is very much signed up to the "Big Society". So we are really delighted to have won the Contribution to the Community award in the nationwide Nectar Business Small Business Awards 2010.

We were short-listed from hundreds of entries, before being voted the most deserving company to win by the public (thank you!). The award recognises businesses that make a positive contribution to the communities they serve and aims to champion companies with clear social objectives.

"We are passionate about helping local communities to lessen their impact on the environment and assist them in contributing to reducing the UK's overall CO2 emissions," said founder Ali Clabburn. "It is very rewarding to have our work recognised nationally by the public and receive the title."

Charlie Humphreys, Client Development Director at Nectar, says: "At Nectar Business we recognise that current times are tough and everyone who has managed to continue their business success and excel in the midst of a recession deserves recognition for their exceptional achievements. There is no end to the creativity, determination and sheer hard work of UK entrepreneurs and SMEs and liftshare's free service that helps many people to reduce CO2 levels and make a difference has really resonated with the public."

Car-sharing hits the small screen

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 17:21:21 EST

This week sees the first episode of a new kind of talk show.... A car-share talk show! Carpool hits our screens for the first time on Dave from Thursday 4th November at 8.30pm.

Taking an interesting spin on the traditional format of the presenter sitting and interviewing thier subject, Robert Lewellyn, presenter of Scrapheap Challenge, will be conducting interviews with celebrities whilst he car-shares with them! Helping them out by giving them lifts and dropping them off where they need to be.

Driving round in his hybrid Toyota Prius, his car-share buddies are set to include: Jason Manford, Rob Brydon and David Baddiel.

Founder of the national car-share network liftshare.com, Ali Clabburn, had this to say:

"This is a great way of raising awareness of car-sharing and just goes to prove how sociable and fun it can be. This programme looks like it is going to be very entertaining, and will hopefully also help to introduce more people to the idea of car-sharing."

400,000 people sign up to car-share

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 09:07:32 EST

Following the nationwide success of the first ever liftshare Week, a phenomenal 400,000 people have now signed up to the UK's largest car-sharing network.

"During liftshare Week itself, a new member was joining every minute of the working day," said founder Ali Clabburn. "It was fantastic to witness, and has helped us reach this landmark figure faster than expected!

"The fact that over 150,000 members have joined in the past two years alone just goes to show how fast car-sharing is growing in popularity."

Member feedback indicates that the ongoing recession, petrol prices and an increasing concern for environmental issues are the main reasons that so many people are wanting to car-share. As one member, Kathryn, told us: "Liftsharing is not only environmentally-friendly, it saves me a small fortune in petrol and servicing my car. I was also very relieved not to be travelling on my own in the bad weather last winter."

Full Car Friday is the grande finale to liftshare Week

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 15:29:13 EST

Tens of thousands of people car-shared into work on this first ever 'Full Car Friday', following the UK-wide success of liftshare Week.

The event captured imaginations throughout the country, creating such a stir that the number of people signing up to car-share even shot up the week before liftshare Week. Over the fortnight itself, more than 4,500 new members have joined the liftshare network.

The first ever week dedicated to car-sharing received unprecedented levels of media interest, while Twitter and Facebook were buzzing with people spreading the word. And liftshare schemes around the country have done some wonderful promotions to encourage and enable their staff, students, patients and communities to car-share - from trialing reserved parking bays for car-sharers, to a "CEO Challenge" and a "spot the bus back" competition!

Thank you to everyone who took part and helped make liftshare Week such a memorable success.