One new trend which may in the future have an impact on the
numbers of company cars on the road is car-sharing, which is
becoming easier to organise thanks to the internet, and thanks to
official support from the government.
Car-sharing is still a niche activity, which is unsuitable and
impractical for a majority of employees. However, anecdotal
evidence would suggest that rising fuel costs are encouraging
growth in formal and informal sharing arrangements. With fuel
prices predicted to remain high – and to rise even higher in coming
months and years – more and more employees may take to sharing
their daily commute.
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A recent survey by Alphabet found that 6 per cent of fleet
manager respondents had taken action to promote and measure levels
of car sharing, while the RAC Foundation has called on commuters to
look actively within their own organisations for car-sharing
partners. The Foundation points out that 18m fixed commutes are
undertaken by car every day, and that motorists could save
significant sums on petrol if they shared their journeys to and
from work.
Transport for London has launched http://www.liftshare.org/, which
encourages drivers and passengers to sign up and join private or
public sharing groups across the UK, while http://www.carshare.com/ is another
resource for those seeking region-specific sharing
schemes.
In January, minister of state for transport Rosie Winterton
unveiled research which found that 1 per cent of respondents to a
Department for Transport (DfT) survey were members of a formal lift
sharing scheme, while 28 per cent took part in some form of car
sharing on at least a weekly basis. The DfT provides car-sharing
guidance for employers; in 2007 it launched the National Business
Travel Network, which “promotes the take up of workplace travel
plans among businesses, which can include car sharing,” the DfT
said.
On March 20 2008, the UK’s first motorway car-sharing lane
was opened, linking the southbound M606 near Bradford to the
eastbound M62 towards Leeds. Opening the lane, transport secretary
Ruth Kelly confirmed that the government is looking closely at
introducing more shared-occupancy only lanes: “[The DfT has]
identified around 500 miles of motorway as potential priority sites
for new traffic management measures, which may also include more
car share lanes.”
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By GlobalData In the short- to medium-term, the impact that car-sharing
will have on take-up of company cars will be minuscule. But in the
longer term, the principle of car-sharing seems sure to become more
mainstream; as it does so, it will surely have a growing part to
play in reducing miles travelled by business drivers, even if it is
never a serious threat to the company car.
Motor Finance Issue: 44 – June 08
Published for the web: June 27 08 11:5
