How do you travel for work? Whether it’s getting stuck in traffic, boring and lonely drives to the office or travel to meetings, none of it is particularly enjoyable. However there are lots of shared transport options out there and at CoMoUK our aim is to find the one that works for you.

The question that is most likely on your lips is ‘what is shared transport?’ At its most simple you either share the journey or share the means of transport. For many the idea of car sharing would bring to mind Peter Kay’s TV show of the same name. It was hilarious but not always an ideal commute.  Rest assured that his portrayal of shared transport isn’t at all typical!  Shared transport can include ride sharing and even bike sharing.

Car clubs are pay-as-you-drive hire schemes which allow members to book a variety of cars online for the time that they need – from an hour to a day – and paying only for the hire time and the distance driven. Bike sharing works very similarly to car clubs. It provides users access to bikes when they need them, for the time they need. On the other hand ride share is something many people are familiar with; it allows you to share journey with others going to the same destination, whether it is a commute to work or a longer distance trip. 

Shared transport offers businesses the opportunity to support their staff, the environment and the local community. But the other great thing about shared transport is that it can save organisations money. In the UK businesses spend millions of pounds on grey fleets for staff travel. Swapping to utilising a car club rather than a grey fleet can greatly reduce this burden. Car clubs are already in most cities in Scotland. This means as a business you could utilise existing car clubs. There is also the option of having a car club set-up specifically at your office or other sites. If you used car clubs in tandem with bike share the option you can further reduce the costs of vehicle usage. 

By helping to support schemes such as car clubs and bike share, businesses can benefit the local community. Allowing local residents access to your businesses car club can help reduce the need for local residents to own more than one car and can also allow those who do not own a car to undertake journeys that can’t be made by other means. The same can be done with a bike share scheme, giving local people access to the bikes and encouraging them to participate in active travel.

What are the benefits?

Studies have shown that sitting in traffic alone during a journey increases stress levels and often feels like time is being wasted. Offering your staff the opportunity to share can make it a more enjoyable journey and alleviate stress.  Having access to a car club vehicle for work travel gives staff access to vehicles at when they need them and allows them to consider other commuting options such as cycling. 

By using shared transport your business can help reduce emissions and promote a healthy lifestyle if you encourage your staff to cycle.

From a business perspective by swapping your travel choices you can reduce the costs to your business. 

What next? 

If any of these shared transport options sounds like something your business would like to explore then please get in contact with CoMoUK: