The benefits of carpooling

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The term carpooling is something that you’d usually associate with the United States. Across the pond, one in 10 are said to be involved in a carshare — significantly more than on our shores. The definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary is:

“A group of people who travel together, especially to work or school, usually in a
different member’s car each day.”

So, why should we start following in our American neighbours’ footsteps? Here, with Lookers, who have a range of New ŠKODAs ideal for car sharing, we take a look at the benefits of carpooling.

Save money

We all like to find new ways to save money — carpool and you can share the cost of your journey! The more people that there are in the car, the smaller your share of the cost of petrol becomes. You can also share any toll costs that you may encounter, as well as car parking fees. It’s not just the daily costs that you can save on either. By carpooling, you will not always be using your own car and this will reduce the amount of wear and tear that occurs, slowing down the need to fork out to fix your vehicle.

Provides company

Carpooling used to be a case of sharing with someone you knew on your daily commute, and half of those who carshare still do so with a flat mate or family member. However, the concept has grown in recent years and, thanks to technology, apps are available to help you find someone to join you on your journey. This can be a great way to meet new people and make new friends.

It’s also been proven that this can help reduce stress. However, it’s not the only way that it can combat this. Sixty per cent of people admitted to experiencing stress while on the road, so it’s clear that sharing the drive and personally driving less will cut this high percentage. It may even provide you with some chill out time if you’re not driving, meaning you can turn up to where you’re going with a new sense of wellbeing.

However, as with any situation, you must be cautious of who you share with if you carpool. Be sure to take precautions, including confirming identities of those you don’t know, and always trust your instincts. Also, be sure to have a backup option in place, as sometimes unavoidable situations such as illness may scupper the best laid out plans.

Better for the environment

This may be an obvious statement, but carpooling means less cars are on the road. This in turn equals less emissions being released into the atmosphere as less fuel is being used – simple! While work continues to make cars and vehicles more environmentally friendly, carpooling is a great way to take a direct step closer to a greener environment today.

It can reduce your journey time

Although the UK is well behind on the number of carpool lanes available, there are several starting to appear on our roads. Also known as 2+ lanes or High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes, the idea has been around in countries like the United States since the 1960s, but now Britain is starting to warm to the idea. The intention is that any vehicle with more than two people on-board can use them and avoid any heavy traffic congestion.

One area in the UK which offers a carpool lane is Gloucestershire and here, the number of cars that take two or more people now has increased from 20% to 27% thanks to the lane. With the average car occupancy in the UK standing at 1.59 people, introducing more carpool lanes across the country could see this figure significantly increase.

So, there you have it. It’s clear that carpooling can be a great idea, so why not suggest the idea to workmates that live near you and start your carshare today? Otherwise, search carpools in your area and take advantage of those already set up. Happy travels!

 Sources

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/carpool?q=carpooling

https://www.1800234ride.com/top-5-benefits-of-carpooling

https://www.holidify.com/pages/reasons-to-carpool-919.html

https://truestressmanagement.com/driving-stress/

https://www.blablacar.com/blog/blablalife/car-sharing-lanes

https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2017/09/is-carpooling-making-a-comeback/539979/

https://wheelzine.com/why-is-carpooling-good-for-environment

https://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/car-pooling-for-the-planet.html

https://www.1800234ride.com/13-fun-facts-about-carpooling

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