Car sharing is an important means of transport in the UK; travelling as a car passenger is more common than travelling by public transport. the 1978 transport act legalised payment for lifts and following this several schemes were started to put workers in touch with others who had apparently compatible journeys. It was concluded from results available in mid-1980 that ignorance of potential partners was not a significant factor in limiting the amount of car sharing. Although some of the schemes generated a lot of interest in car sharing the proportion of new car sharers was less than three per cent in all the cases. Economic factors also affect people's decision to car share or not. A computer model was used to investigate one such choice: that between driving alone and car pooling as petrol costs increased. Using a data set calculated to represent travel to work in the UK it was concluded that very large increases in petrol costs would be needed before an appreciable number of car drivers would start to car pool. (Author/publisher)
Abstract