How to Use a Car Share

With fluctuating gasoline prices, longer commutes to work and heavier traffic, many people are starting to use a car share to offset their expenses and cut their commute time in half. People car share with their co-workers, neighbors and sometimes even ads answered through online classifieds looking for car sharers. Many commuters also use a car share to have someone to chat with while riding to work.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Determine the distance for your daily commute to work to assess whether or not the car share idea is feasible. To use a car share is generally more advantageous if there are three or more passengers traveling a minimum of 15 to 20 miles.

2. Solicit other co-workers or neighbors to join in using the car share to further offset expenses.

3. Split the cost of the use of the car share equally by the number of individuals that will be participating in the ride. Divide the cost according to gasoline prices, car maintenance and distances between stops. For instance, if someone lives 3 miles farther from the others in the car share, decide whether or not that person needs to pay more than the other riders.

4. Decide which person will be the lead driver and what car will be used. Or, the group may decide to rotate the drivers and the cars, which is more feasible.

5. Plot a schedule between riders to decide who will drive what car on what date and for how long. For instance, decide if the driver will drive for 1 or 2 weeks at a time or any other preferred rotation.

Resources

• Website that gives car sharing news and participating cities.
• Transportation website that statistics on car sharing.
• Information on the usability of car-sharing companies.