Set up a carpool system
When two or more people drive together instead of each with their own vehicle, we speak of carpooling. As a result, there are fewer vehicles with only one occupant and thus the emission of pollutants is reduced.
You tackle the following challenges:
That's how you do it
Carpooling not only reduces emissions, it also saves costs for users — fuel costs, tolls, parking fees — and/or their employers — parking spaces or the cost of a car fleet. The system leads to:
- less congestion and traffic,
- fewer parking spaces,
- increased awareness about traffic as a major source of air pollution,
- more social cohesion and less social exclusion,
- a reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from traffic.
You can encourage carpooling with:
- generally higher parking fees,
- excluding free parking and kilometer allowance for carpoolers,
- toll collection,
- separate lanes for vehicles with at least two occupants.
For organizations
- Employers encourage their employees to carpool with, for example, exclusive parking spaces or a mileage allowance. Others let the employees agree to ride together via the intranet.
- In Belgium you get a tax advantage if you carpool for your commute. The employer must then organize this carpooling and conclude an agreement with the employee. Carpool.be contains guides on tax benefits for employees and employers.
- You can record shared rides on various websites and in various smartphone apps. An example in Belgium is Taxistop , which offers carpooling, but also event and school pooling. A similar service in the UK is Carplus Trust , which also promotes alternatives to traditional car use.
For citizens
- To travel cheaply, long-distance carpooling is becoming increasingly popular, especially among students. The rides are arranged via the internet. In Europe there are two major platforms: Carpooling and Blablacar .
- In the Netherlands and Flanders, more and more cities are providing parking spaces at main roads or intersections where people can agree to continue driving together. They are often optimally located for public or active transport before or after the shared ride: at bus stops, with secure bicycle sheds or bicycle rental points.
More information
- Extensive reading on sustainable road transport: “ Policy instruments for sustainable road transport ”.
- A good overview of various real and theoretical infrastructural changes and an in-depth analysis of the potential effect of carpool and eco-lanes: “ Are HOV/eco-lanes a sustainable option to reducing emissions in a medium-sized European city ?”
- Carpool sites for transport in Europe are: http://www.ridefinder.eu/ and www.carpooling.com
- Taxation of carpooling (the Netherlands)
