Green Commuting

National Car Free Day and Green Transport Week are designed to highlight real alternatives to the car for every day journeys.

They aim to raise awareness of transport impact on the environment, highlight transport alternatives, make people stop and think before they go somewhere, and send a message to the government on green transport and environmental issues.

To help you do your bit, we have tips for reducing the environmental impact of driving to work, and advice on ditching the car completely. If your company organises a green commuting scheme you could get involved in that, there may even be incentives to leave your car at home, or you could ask if they could set one up.

Greener Car Travel

If you need a car, buy one and maintain it for the best performance. Go for nearly new, because buying new wastes resources while newer cars are generally less polluting and more efficient. Choose the smallest possible for your everyday use. Look at the fuel economy. The Environmental Transport Association’s Car Buyer’s Guide gives an accurate assessment of all cars on the market. If you have a company car, persuade your employer to offer less polluting cars.

There are other things you can do to reduce fuel consumption. Keep weight to the minimum by removing shoes, golf clubs and so on when you don't need them. Reduce wind resistance by removing roof racks and driving with the windows up. Check tyre pressure is up to the right psi. Try not to use air conditioning or leave the engine running.

Drive steady. Allowing plenty of time for your journey will mean you get to work on time and unstressed too! Driving under 15 miles per hour pollutes most, then pollution decreases up to 60 mph, before increasing over 60 mph. Harsh braking and accelarating are bad for car and fuel consumption. Wearing shoes that are less bulky can improve responsiveness to the car's controls.

If you can, move your journey by twenty minutes and avoid the rush hour. Consider lift-sharing.

Green motoring tips, a calculator to work out how much it really costs to run your car, and the environmental ratings of all new cars can all be found at www.eta.co.uk.

Lift Sharing

Car sharing involves two or more people who live and work nearby or at the samecompany commuting in the same car rather than separately. Your company may organise a scheme, or there are regional and national websites that can match you with others.

The benefits of car sharing are considerable. As well as doing your bit to reduce congestion and pollution, by splitting the costs of travel, drivers and passengers can beat the rising cost of fuel.

Car sharing can be organised online or over the phone for free with the assistance of liftshare.com, the UK 's largest car sharing company. Established in 1997, the scheme has over 110,000 members registered on a central database, saving more than 260 trips to the moon in car miles. To join the scheme simply register at www.liftshare.com and enter your journey details. Drivers can search for people to give lifts to, whilst passengers can search for lifts to any destination in the UK.

As well as the national scheme, liftshare also provides car sharing schemes to over 400 businesses and communities across the country. Current clients include Barclaycard, BskyB, Transport for London, Airbus and a large number of Councils, Hospitals and Universities, many of whom will be actively promoting car sharing as part of National LiftShare Day.

On National Lift Share Day, 14th June, you can raise funds for Asthma UK by donating the money saved through car sharing to the UK's only asthma charity.

Cycling

Bike2Work is part of National Bike Week, from 17th to 25th June, encouraging people to cycle to work regularly. Bike2Work encourages people to donate the money they save on transport to Leukaemia Research.

A Government initiative enables employees using bikes mainly for travel to and from work to be provided on loan, taking advantage of permitted 'tax breaks' that can significantly reduce the net cost of new bikes and eligible accessories. Bikes can be loaned to employees participating in a 'salary sacrifice' or other scheme, at the end of which (say after 12 or 18 months) they can be purchased by the employees at a 'fair market value' (that could be just 2.5% plus VAT of the original purchase price) or continue to be provided on loan. Guidance can be found at www.dft.gov.uk.

BikeBUDi.com is launched on 7th June. The first of its kind in the UK, it's a simple and free to use website which matches individuals with others cycling the same way so they can ride together. The idea is not just to help current cyclists to find a BikeBUDi but also to encourage individuals who may be apprehensive about cycling to give it a go. By putting experienced cyclists in touch with those willing to give it a try it is hoped that this will reduce some of the usual reasons for not cycling.

BikeBUDi, run by liftshare Ltd who operate www.liftshare.com, uses all the latest liftshare matching technology and mapping software but has been tailor made to facilitate matching cycle rather than car journeys. It's not only a free public service available to anyone wanting to find a companion to cycle with, the software also allows communities to set up their own private BikeBUDi schemes. Schemes can either be set up independently or can be added into existing liftshare car share schemes. So far 42 of liftshare's existing clients have integrated BikeBUDi as part of their Travel Plans.

Further information can be found at www.BikeBUDi.com.

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