High prices fuel car sharing

CAR-SHARING in Scotland has risen by 50% in the last year as motorists change their commuting habits due to soaring fuel prices.

New figures from the UK's biggest car-sharing network reveal that the number of drivers north of the border who have signed up with car-share schemes has increased from 8,209 to 12,299 in 12 months.

Motorists have cited the rocketing cost of fuel as the main reason for the increase. Prices at the pumps have risen from 95p a litre at the end of last year, to more than £1.40 for a litre of diesel in parts of Scotland. Last week crude oil reached an all-time high of $145 a barrel.

Liftshare.com organises car-pooling schemes for companies, public organisations and private groups. It says that across the UK as a whole, 15,000 new members signed up in June alone as drivers rushed to save on fuel bills, taking the total membership UK-wide to 250,000. People are joining at twice the rate of a month ago and nearly four times faster than at the start of the year.

Environmental groups said a revolution was taking place in British transport habits with a rise in the use of public transport and higher sales of smaller vehicles and models that use alternative fuels.

Green groups and the Government have welcomed the increase in car-sharing. Robin Harper of the Scottish Green Party said: "This is excellent news. The reduction in carbon dioxide emissions won't save the planet in itself but it is a step in the right direction and all motorists need to change their behaviour. The increase in car-sharing should be welcomed and the Government should do what it can to encourage it."

Duncan McLaren, chief executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: "This demonstrates that people can reduce car use. The Government should be working to make it easier for them to do this, rather than planning to spend huge sums on increasing road capacity."

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Car-sharing is one way individuals can reduce the number of cars on Scottish roads, in turn reducing carbon emissions which contribute to climate change."

Motoring organisations said the increase demonstrated how hard motorists were being penalised by rises in fuel costs and fuel and road taxes.

A spokeswoman for the RAC said: "It's clear that people are ingenious and will work out ways to save money. But the issue needs to be addressed that a substantial proportion of the extra new money going to the Treasury in coming years will be coming from motorists. That burden should be reduced."

The AA said relationships with cars were gradually changing. AA president Edmund King said cars had been taken for granted up to now.

"For many people, getting in their car is like sitting in their living room: they select the temperature, the music and shut out the rest of the world," he said.

"Now, probably for the first time, people are thinking the car is not as easy as it used to be: it does cost more to run, it's harder to park. Gradually people are thinking: are there other ways we could use our car? Could we get a smaller car? We could maybe cut out, or share, some journeys."

Ali Clabburn, founder of Liftshare, added that whatever the prime motivation – financial, environmental or social – the number of people who had joined Liftshare provided clear evidence that a new travel mindset is taking hold in the UK. "Our old reputation as a land where your car is your castle is being turned on its head," she said.

In May, Scotland on Sunday reported how drivers were abandoning their cars and taking to buses and trains because of the rocketing cost of fuel.

Official figures from the Department for Transport show that car traffic fell UK-wide by 2% in the first three months of 2008 compared with the same period of 2007.

ScotRail, which runs train services across the country, said passenger numbers increased by at least 4% during the same period last year.

Lothian Buses, which runs services in and around Edinburgh, reported a 5% increase; while FirstGroup, which runs services in Glasgow and Aberdeen, says it has also recorded rises in bus travel.

Not just a drive for savings

ONE converted car-sharer is Miriam Adcock, from Peebles, who shares the driving burden with two colleagues for her 30-mile commute to Newtown St Boswells in the Borders, where she works in communications for the local authority.

Miriam, who has been car-sharing since February, says: "I started for a number of reasons, just having someone to share the journey with, the environment, and of course the price of fuel. And the more the price of fuel goes up, the more glad I am I did this and the more you save. It also saves the wear and tear on the car. And you make friends with people."

Car-sharing had given rise to its own system of etiquette, Miriam adds. "Whoever is driving decides what is on the radio or what music is played. But we find that because we talk to each other through the journey we hardly ever need the radio on. I would recommend this to anyone."