Car sharing and car pooling
Car pooling
Car pooling is when two or more people travel together in one car to a common destination. Car poling is flexible and can be used for one-off trips or on a regular basis. It is an easy and convenient way for people to make a more sustainable travel choice.
The Department of Transport have an excellent Car Pooling guide for people travelling to work or tertiary institutions. It covers setting up the pool, what you can expect from your fellow car pool participants and common questions such as "Are there any car insurance issues?".
Ozcarpool, an Australia-wide car pool database, will put you in touch with other people in your area that commute at the same time as you each day.
Once you get a match, all you have to do is contact that person via email to start your carpool group.
Car sharing
Car sharing provides an alternative to car ownership, whilst providing access to a car when you need it.
Car share is a privately run service where companies offer access to a fleet of cars to their members. Members can access cars on short notice, booking via the phone or internet when they need car access. Bookings can be as short as an hour or two or as long as several days. Members pay a monthly rate and a little more when each time they make a booking. These rates cover all the costs of motoring including petrol, insurance, maintenance and dedicated parking spaces.
For people who don't need a car everyday, using a car share scheme may be a better option than owning your own car.
The benefits of car share are:
- the potential to reduce demand for parking
- older, more polluting cars are replaced with new, more fuel efficient vehicles
- smarter choices about transport to maximise transportation efficiency, and
- stronger community through efficient sharing of resources.
