Sharing rides is also known as:
This is where a private citizen offers to share a trip with one or more passengers.
People share rides formally through established platforms as well as informally through networks in neighbourhoods, communities and workplaces.
This saves money and greenhouse gas emissions and is part of breaking the link between car use and car ownership.
UK law means:
Lift sharing often works well in closed groups such as colleagues travelling to work.
If a platform facilitates the shared rides, it makes income from licences from bodies such as local authorities and employers.
Private hire services such as Uber and Lyft are not part of what CoMoUK works on.
Lift sharing carries a range of benefits, particularly when used in conjunction with other forms of sustainable transport:
Research from CoMoUK in 2024, found that 3.3 million trips or 25% of all travel to work trips made by car owners per day could be done as a shared ride. 616 Kilotonnes of CO2e could be reduced each year if all single-occupancy car trips to work were replaced by trips with 1 driver and 1 passenger.
Liftshare is a social enterprise platform that has over 300,000 active members.
It has helped over 600 businesses and communities set up their own online journey-matching tools to encourage liftsharing.
