Today is National Lift Share Day! (Who on earth decides these things, and is there a central register of them that makes sure they don't clash too much?) According to a survey by Reed, we would all like to celebrate today's theme: 45% of UK workers questioned said that they would be more likely to work for an employer who offered an easy-to-use car sharing scheme.
Although transport problems cost British business £5 billion a year in lost productivity, only 5% share a car to work. This new study surveyed over 3,000 people, and reveals that if reliable arrangements were organised by employers nine times as many individuals would use car share schemes.
This could mean up to 4.7million less cars on British roads on a daily basis, 16% of the total registered in the UK. Reduced congestion would in turn lessen lateness and transport stress, as well as reducing petrol consumption. "When I first started working for my company there were five people who lived in the same area as me so we shared lifts to work", said one worker. "Now I am the only one left so it costs me a lot of money".
Workers are most likely to use a car sharing scheme in Wales, where 60% of people would prefer to work for an employer who offered this. The proposal is least popular in the South of England, where the figure drops to 39%. The research indicates that men (48%) would be slightly more in favour of the scheme than women (44%). This is in line with the fact that over half of all male workers (53%) use a car to get to work, compared to fewer women (46%).
Lift-sharing arrangements can be coordinated through LiftShare and National Car Share.
