CoMoUK is a charity working to maximise the public benefit of collaborative mobility, which helps create inclusive communities.
CoMoUK supports all modes of shared transport including car clubs, bike share, ride share and micro-transit, as part of the solution to the impacts of travel. Shared transport is continually evolving and innovating; we work to support and ensure that new modes of transport work positively for the public.
CoMoUK has worked in the shared transport sector for the past 20 years and has continue to grow and develop. CoMoUK ensures we have a continued breadth of knowledge and are experts in the shared transport sector.
We look at shared transport, such as car clubs or bike share, as part of the solution to environmental impacts of travel.
What is shared transport?
There are three main types of shared transport in the UK; car clubs, bike share and ride share.
Car Club
Car clubs allow you to access a car when you need it, on a pay-as-you-drive basis. Registering for a car club gives you access to a variety of vehicles in many different locations , booking the vehicle for as long as you need and only paying for its used.
Bike share
Bike share allows you to access a bike when you need it, paying only for the time you are using it. Registering for bike share gives you access to bikes across a city without having the expensive outlay of purchasing your own bike. Perhaps you want to try an electric bike or want to get back into cycling, bike share can be the ideal way to do this.
Ride Share
Ride share can also be called car sharing, car pooling or lift sharing and is when a person offers to share their car and that particular journey with another person or people. If you are the driver, then you can ask for a contribution to the cost of the journey. Ride sharing can be organised informally in neighbourhoods and communities or through formal ride share operators. Some operators allow closed ride sharing groups to be set-up for example within one office or company.
Why shared transport?
Shared transport offers businesses the opportunity to support their staff, the environment and the local community but it can also 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 grey fleet can reduce this cost. 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 office locations. If you used car clubs in tandem with bike share you can further reduce the cost of vehicle usage.
Transport is now the single largest emitting sector and transport emissions have risen since 2013. Taking decisive action to tackle emissions in this sector, and crucially shifting away from single-occupancy private cars, is vital to reverse the deepening health inequalities and environmental impact associated with the climate crisis.
CoMoUK’s evidence base, now spanning a decade, demonstrates the ways in which shared transport is playing an important role in tackling climate change by reducing emissions, reducing congestion and helping protect public health by improving air quality.
Car clubs are reducing the number of privately owned cars on the road, reducing journey numbers and reducing carbon emissions. As evidenced in CoMoUK’s Car Club Annual Survey for Scotland, car clubs can:
- Improve local air quality by using more environmentally friendly cars, which have significantly lower tailpipe emissions than the average UK car.
- Reduce CO2 emissions as 48% of car club vehicles are electric or hybrid models.
- Facilitate lower levels of car ownership and encourage travel by public transport, walking and cycling
Bike share schemes offer a flexible, carbon free, healthy and active form of travel, creating clearer streets and cleaner air. Like other forms of active travel, bike share has a range of environmental and health benefits but can also help tackle issues such as transport poverty, improve social inclusion and provide a gateway for people to travel more sustainably.
Bike share can reduce car use and cut emissions and encourage more active travel as an alternative to a private car without the need to own or store a bike.
Furthermore, e-bike share schemes are providing an alternative way of commuting to work, especially for longer journeys.
From CoMoUK’s latest annual survey of bike share members in Scotland it was found that:
- 24% of shared bike scheme users now use their cars less as a result of their membership.
- 58% of members said bike share schemes enhance public transport.
- 31% of members use bike share schemes to commute more than 3 days a week.
As well as sharing modes such as car clubs and bike sharing, ride sharing and Demand Responsive Transport also have the effect of removing private cars from the roads and provide alternative forms of transport that may not be otherwise accessible.
Ride sharing and demand responsive transport have a positive impact on air quality by:
- Reducing single occupancy car trips
- Reducing road traffic and congestion
- Reducing vehicle emissions
Benefits for workplaces
Supporting your Staff
Having access to a car club vehicle for work travel gives staff access to vehicles when they need them and allows them to consider other commuting options such as cycling or walking
Giving staff the opportunity to travel by bike can improve health and reduce sickness.
Optimising your Business
Swapping to using a car club rather than a grey fleet can reduce the cost burden to your company. Car clubs can be set up to suit your business needs.
By utilising bikes to travel, journey times can be improved by avoiding traffic. As a business you would also have the opportunity to consider reducing the number of parking spaces.
Caring for the Environment
Using car clubs and ride share can reduce the number of private cars on the road helping reduce emissions. In addition, the majority of car club cars are more environmentally friendly than your typical grey fleet car.
Your business can help reduce emissions by encouraging staff to cycle. E-bikes can also be used for a variety of journey types and enables wider use of bikes reducing the need for cars for business travel.
Our Team
At CoMoUK we are proud of our team of experts. We have several members of staff who are experts in specific shared transport options such as car clubs or bike share. In addition, there are team members who can help with marketing, project management and research. All of this ensures that we can offer the best support and advice across shared transport.
Interested in shared transport?
If shared transport is something that you would like to explore for your business, then get in touch and we can help find the right option for you. On our website you can also find an toolkit aimed to engage you staff with shared transport and guidelines as to how to get involved with shared transport options.
E: scotland@como.org.uk
W: www.como.org.uk
Twitter: @Como_uk
