Car pooling

Car pooling or ride sharing is convenient, great to save money and better for the environment. You can’t really go wrong!  I guess you need to know what is car pooling to start with, don’t you?!

 Car pooling is basically sharing a ride with a friend who is going the same way. It might be a friend from work with a car who you share the same shift with – why not catch a lift with them? You might even take a ride with your flatmate or neighbour to the supermarket because you like to shop at the same place – the possibilities are endless you just have to ask around.

Here are some reasons car pooling is great for you:

* it reduces your travelling expenses and the need for a car
* if you have a car then offering someone a ride might be some extra company for the trip or they might even help contribute to the fuel bill
* it improves your travel time (it can sometimes be a little faster on highways because if you have more than one person in the car you can use ‘car pooling lanes’  which are generally less crowded 
* it provides you with an alternative and cheap travel option

Carpooling is also great for your community because:

* it reduces pollution and emissions (one car is better than two!)
* and therefore improves the environment.

There are heaps of different carpooling options out there you just have to think outside the box.

You might find other options like ‘Go Get’ in major cities. Go Get allows you to pick up a car from somewhere in your community and use it for the length of time you need. You can join up as a member (for as little as hourly membership in case you only wanted to use it once). You just have to be over 21 years old and have  a clean driving record (www.goget.com.au)

There is also MyCarpools which is a free online carpool service. MyCarpools lets you register a trip to anywhere to see if you can find someone who wants to share the ride without having to reveal any personal details first. Check it out www.mycarpools.com