Beat The Crunch  RSS feed | About

Don't forget to visit our Beat The Crunch forum

Comment | Read Comments (2)

FROM LEFT: Diane Thompson and Amber Kennedy, who both work at Chineham Park, share their journeys to work

FOR a lot of people, the cost of travelling to work now takes a significant chunk of their income.

Running a car for the daily commute can be expensive, and while switching to the bus or train may offer a cheaper solution for some who live near good transport links, for many, using a car to get to work is unavoidable.

But, as many Basingstoke commuters are discovering, sharing the car journey to the office with someone who lives nearby could be an easier, more convenient, way to cut the cost of travelling to work.

And as well as saving money, car-sharing also has significant environmental benefits, including cutting carbon emissions and reducing traffic jams caused by congested roads.

Car-sharing has certainly proved economical for three members of staff from Basingstoke hospital, who save about £80 a week by travelling to work in the same car.

Andrew Buckley, the hospital's general manager of facilities, set up a car-share scheme for staff who work for the Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust earlier this year. So far, 150 members of staff have registered an interest in the scheme, and several shared journeys are taking place.

For the past few months, Mr Buckley has been sharing his 45-mile commute between his home in Chandler's Ford and the hospital with colleagues Vanessa John, procurement leader, and David Holdsworth, capital and treasury accountant, who live in the same area.

Mrs John and Mr Holdsworth take it in turns to drive on alternate weeks, and each week Mr Buckley, who does not run a car, contributes around half the cost of the petrol.

Mr Buckley said: "We think that, between us, we're saving about £80 a week on petrol now that we don't all come up in our own cars, which is great. It really adds up.

"Sharing lifts works for us as we live near each other and all work standard hours, so we can set off together in the morning and leave work at the same time at the end of the day.

"It also helps that there are two drivers, so if one can't make it, the other can drive instead - but we've only had to change plans once."

Mr Holdsworth added: "At the end of the day, any money that Andrew gives me towards fuel, or days I can get a lift in with Vanessa, are a bonus. I have to travel to and from the hospital anyway, so sharing lifts, and the costs, makes sense."

The Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust has signed up to the national car-sharing scheme liftshare as part of its travel plan, which aims to make travel to and from the hospital more sustainable.

Mr Buckley said: "As an organisation, it has not been all that difficult to sort out. We now just need more people to sign up and get involved.

"Car-sharing doesn't always work for those people who work shifts, but for those who work a normal' day, it is quite achievable.

"One of the biggest concerns that people have about car-sharing is how they would get home in an emergency. At the hospital, we are looking into the possibility of setting up a fund which car-sharers can draw on if their lift fails or they need to get home urgently."

Chineham Park, the MEPC-owned business park in Crockford Lane, is also encouraging staff to car-share into work.

The park has set up its own car-sharing website where staff from all its businesses can register their interest in car-sharing and search for others who live near them and are interested in doing the same. The site is linked to the national liftshare network, so keen car-sharers can search a wider range of possible lift shares if they can't find a match within the park itself.

Wendy Fletcher, estates assistant and travel co-ordinator at Chineham Park, said: "Since we set up the scheme in April, we have had more than 100 people register their interest in car-sharing, and from those, about 20 per cent are now sharing lifts on a regular basis.

"Currently, active car-sharers from the park are saving 23,177 miles a year. If everyone who is registered with the scheme actively got involved, 262,675 commuting miles could be saved.

"We are in a good position to encourage car-sharing as we have contact with many different companies, but car-sharing is something a lot of organisations could do."

Benefits of car-sharing

• Saves money
• Reduces the number of cars on the roads - resulting in less congestion, less pollution and fewer parking problems
• Provides a solution to a lack of public transport in rural areas
• Gives employees and employers more transport options
• Reduces the need for a private car

• Avoid exchanging home addresses with your travelling companion before you meet them
• Arrange to meet in a public place
• Inform a friend or family member about who you will be travelling with, when and to where
• If you have never met before, make sure you show each other some ID so you know you're travelling with the right person
• Check that the driver has a current driving licence and the car is well maintained and has a valid MOT

• Ground rules with regard to smoking, music, eating and drinking
• A driving schedule, with meeting points and times
• A method of reimbursing costs
• A chain of communication, with agreed notification times if a lift share cannot go ahead

9:34am Friday 1st August 2008

Print

Email this

Comment