Car Share

Do you drive into work alone? Think about it… if you shared the ride with just one other person you could half the costs of your journey.

As well as cutting costs, you’ll also be reducing demand for car parking, helping the environment and easing congestion. Plus the journey time will fly by now that you’ve got someone to talk to!

So how do you get started?

For those registering with the scheme for the first time we have pulled together a short user guide which can be downloaded by clicking here.

• Why share my journey to work by car?

  People choose to share their journey to work for different reasons. For some, such as those who walk, travelling to work with someone else can be more sociable than being alone, and safer.
  
  For most however, the opportunity to share the journey to work by car offers the potential to save a significant amount of money compared to driving alone. By either sharing the driving or sharing fuel costs many people can save up to EUR1000 a year. In addition you will help reduce congestion, parking demand and your carbon footprint.

• What if having signed up to the scheme I decide I don't want to share my journey by car?

  Firstly, it is important to note that by joining the scheme you are not obliged in any way to share your journey with someone else.
  
  The scheme is purely there to help you identify others you could share with, but it is up to you whether you then choose to do so. If you are contacted by someone who you prefer not to share with, for whatever reason, then please just send a polite response explaining that at this moment you do not wish to share your journey. All participants in the scheme accept that it is ok to decline a share or to conclude a sharing arrangement at any time.

• How much to charge if I give someone a lift?

  Many car sharers choose to simply take it in turn to drive, in which case there is no need for money to change hands.
  
  If however you drive all of the time and give others a lift it is reasonable to ask for a contribution towards the cost of the journey.
  
  What this amount is should be agreed between you in advance, but typically people seek to recoup an appropriate proportion of the fuel costs for the journey (i.e. half if two people share).

• What are the insurance implications of car sharing?

  We suggest that drivers and passengers share the cost of fuel, parking and tolls. Please note however that drivers should not make a profit from sharing a car as this can invalidate their insurance and tax. If you have any concerns please contact your insurance company directly, however the Irish Insurance Federation advises that car sharing will not affect a drivers insurance as long as:
  > The vehicle is not built or adapted to carry more than 8 passengers excluding the driver;
  > The passengers are not being cariied as part of a business of carrying people;
  >The owner does not make a profit from the total money they receive for the journey;
  > Agreement is made prior to the journey commencing.
  
  From an insurance perspective as long as the above applies sharing the journey to work by car with someone else is no different to giving a friend a lift to football at the weekend, or picking up a family member for a night out.

• How safe is the carsharing.ie website?

  > The scheme does not ask you to enter your home address at any stage. You can select your location by picking a point on a Google Map. This does not have to be your exact home address - you are free to pick a point within a general area to give an approximate indication of your location;
  
  > All car sharers' details are stored securely in the database and only the details required to organise a car share are displayed on-line;
  
  > Your email remains private until you request or approve a car share;
  
  > Car sharing is an entirely voluntary arrangement. If for any reason you do not wish to proceed with car sharing following registration, you have total freedom of choice in this regard and this is accepted by all participants. A 'Cancel Membership' option is available at the bottom of your profile;
  
  > Car sharers enter into an agreement to car share or to use the carsharing.ie website entirely of their own violation and no liability will fall on either the employer, group administrators, agents associated with the website or the NTA.

• Useful videos

  The following is a link to a series of useful videos which illustrate how to:
  
  1. Register into the BAML group for the first time;
  2. Add a trip;
  3. Send a message.
  
  Visit the page now by clicking here