Growing concerns: Rising car usage
Due to the growth in population and employment, the absolute number of trips by both car and public transport are increasing. The amount of motor cars and station wagons more than doubled from 3million to more than 6million since 1990. According to the General Household Survey 2011, private vehicles remain the most common source of transport for individuals travelling to work at 32%.
Viable solution: Increase average vehicle occupancy by encouraging carpooling
Replacement of current inefficient vehicles will take many years and billions of rands. A cost effective alternative is to find ways of making better use of the vehicles (and empty seats) that already use the roads. Commuters know that many others travel their way at the same time but they don’t know how to access such information. Without an easy way to find other commuters, people might feel unable to share journeys.
Carpooling make sense
An individual sharing a daily round trip of 50km with one other person over a period of one year can save over R7000 (fuel and wear & tear) and reduce almost 2.5t Co2 (more Co2 than 3 trees absorb in their lifetime). For government it facilitates the integration of public and private transport, reduces congestion and improves air quality. For business it is a great trip reduction initiative that will reduce CO2, ease onsite parking and add to employee wellness.
How do you get an entire nation behind this idea?
FindaLift encourages and enables South Africans to make better use of cars by providing simple online tools that securely matches members on similar routes, making carpooling easy to arrange. FindaLift implements and sustains a two part integrating national network called The FindaLift Network (TFN). TFN is built by setting up carpool groups/portals for ‘like-minded’ individuals:
- 4Public: Findalift.co.za is a national public carpool database, free for members
- 4Business: Private carpool portals powered by FindaLift give restricted access and enable environmental reporting
TFN Statistics: 8000 members = 40 000 journeys saved = 100t CO2 saved
South Africa’s First Carpool Week
This year sees SA’s first ever Carpool Week from 7-11 October, powered by FindaLift. It will raise awareness of the social and environmental benefits of carpooling for business and individuals, clear some uncertainties around the topic and provide South African’s with an easy way to find others to carpool with.
Carpool Week Topics
7 October: What’s in it for me & is anyone going my way?
8 October: Did you know: Interesting facts + figures
9 October: Carpool experiences: The Good, the Bad and the Funny
10 October: Overcoming the safety and insurance barriers
11 October: Carpool tips for Individuals and Business
Follow the conversation on Twitter: #carpoolweekSA
For more can be found on FindaLift or Carpool Week.