John's Weird World

There are quite a few car clubs. Check out the City Car Club, StreetCar and Whizzgo. The government would like us to use car clubs too, as congestion is costing the country money and wasted time, and the transport sector is responsible for a lot of carbon emissions. Carplus is a national charity promoting responsible car use, and it's website has links to car clubs as well as other information about how to drive more ethically. Carclubs has a cost calculator which shows how much money you can save by not having your own car, but using a car club vehicle instead.  Many local authorities are now promoting their own car club scheme, so contact them too... as an employee there might be cheap or free membership.

But car clubs aren't the only solution.  You could share your car with someone going in the same direction, so they don't have to drive themselves, putting another vehicle in the queue of traffic.  You could decide to share your journey with someone else from your workplace, privately, if they live near you or are on the route.  But there are lots of web-based car sharing schemes which allow you to register your journey so someone can share with you, or for you to find someone going your way who will give you a lift.  Try National Car Share, Shareacar, or LiftShare. If one of these doesn't suit, there's a directory of car share schemes called Carshare.com which lists local schemes too.  Car sharers save money on fuel as the person getting a lift often pays something towards the petrol, and of course, having company might make the journey a bit less boring. Additionally, if part of your journey involves a stretch of road with a 'two plus' lane, you get to use this and skip past the traffic jam with all the single-occupancy vehicles....

As a cyclist, I would like to experience safer roads with fewer cars and other motor vehicles.  So I will promote any method which cuts car use and helps people travel less or in a more sustainable way.  I have a friend, Anna Semlyen, who has written a very good (and cheap!) book called 'Cutting Your Car Use' which has the low-down on all the ways you can reduce or replace private car use.  It is such an accessible and useful little book that many local authorities have bought 'job lots' of it to give to employees to help them cut their corporate carbon footprint.

My 'green tip of the week' is to suggest that you ask your employer to buy a few copies of this book to lend out or give to people who want to do their bit to reduce their car use.  Bulk orders are even cheaper....