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Car pool and car share

Sometimes sharing a car or driving someone else's car can be a better choice than buying and maintaining your own car.

If you use a car on a regular basis, car pooling can be a good travel solution. If you rarely need a car, you could consider selling it and car sharing instead.

  • Cut your personal transport costs
  • Reduce the stress of driving and maintaining a car
  • Help make our streets safer, less polluted and quieter

At a glance

  • Savings 3
  • Ease 2
  • Impact 3

Car pool

It is much more efficient to drive a full car. Car pooling means you share your car with people who are going in the same direction as you.

When divided among two or more people, car pooling will reduce the cost of fuel, parking, and tolls. You may even have access to special parking permits, priority parking, and in some cases discounts for car servicing or roadside assistance.

Many cities also have special traffic lanes dedicated to cars with two or more passengers during peak hours which can reduce your travel time.

Car pooling can reduces stress, increases social interactivity and improve punctuality.

Find people to car pool with

Find people nearby to share a ride with by talking to neighbours, people at work interest groups or register with an online car pool matching service.

Find people from your local area who are travelling to the same place as you on a regular basis. Common destinations could include:

  • work
  • school drop-offs and pick-ups
  • sports and hobbies
  • community groups and meetings
  • church and charity groups.

Start a car pool

To start a car pool:

  • Decide on the pick-up and drop-off points for each passenger for each day. Once you know the schedule, you can agree on which car you are going to use and how often.
  • Agree on how the costs will be covered for petrol, tolls, parking and running costs. If everyone involved has a car, it can be easier to take turns using a car than to divide the costs.

Car share

If you don't need to have a car all the time, you might be able to car share. Car sharing lets you use another person's car or a car from a fleet parked in your local area or town centre.

Sharing a car with another person will allow you to share the costs of petrol, insurance, registration, parking and maintenance. Hiring a car from a car share company means you are only paying a proportion of costs for the times you actually use a car.

Car sharing companies

There are a number of car share companies operating in the main Australian cities. Check online to see who offers car sharing in your area and what the conditions of use are.

If your local area has a suitable car share system, you can let someone else handle the costs of car ownership. The fee you pay to drive the car means that you don't have to spend time organising maintenance, insurance and registration. You'll just be paying for what you use.

Car sharing can also help keep the number of cars on Australian roads down and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions from transport.

Booking a car

Once you've joined a car sharing service, it's easy to book and use a car when you know you'll need it. You can usually book a car online. You'll book the sort of car you need, where you'll be picking it up, the length of time you'll have it for and where you'll return it.

Sell your car

If walking, cycling, taking public transport, car sharing or car pooling are better travel options for you, consider selling your car. This will save you money on car registration and maintenance as well as parking and fuel costs.

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