World's first LIFTSHARE week is this week, 4-8th Oct. Find someone going your way in Locks Heath / Western Wards

Lift sharing isn't a new idea - people have been sharing lifts to work or school with friends or colleagues for a long time. 'Liftshare' however is a new idea. It is a very simple online tool that makes it easy to find other people locally with similar journeys that are prepared to share their car - thereby cutting their travel expense, their carbon footprint, their stress, and maybe even making new friends.

An AA/Populus poll, published today, showed that one in five people now regularly car-share.

"Car-sharing is saving me £10 a day," says Jon Lloyd from Llanwrtyd, who shares 30 miles each way on his commute. "It's nice to have the company, and it's great when you're tired after work and the other person is driving! Plus I do like to feel that I am actually reducing my huge carbon footprint."

"Record fuel prices and an ever-increasing toll of taxes and charges on car users makes car-sharing such a sensible choice for car owners who find costs mounting," said Edmund King, the AA's president (on Liftshare website).

"The AA/Populus survey shows that at least a quarter of those who don't car-share at present could if they found a driving ‘buddy' who does the same regular route at least some of the time. That is what Liftshare Week is about: introducing drivers to the car-sharing network, its possibilities and the flexibility it offers."

You don't even need a car to sign up to be a car-sharer. Many members are willing to do the driving in return for a contribution to their fuel costs and some friendly company. You can also use Liftshare to find a 'BUDi' to share a bike, taxi or walking journey with.

The Liftshare website has a cost calculator for working out how much you would save annually by sharing your lifts. So, for example, a car worth £6,000 doing 4,000 shared miles per year at 31.6 miles per gallon and with no parking charges would save approximately £443 and 576 kg of CO2 annually just by sharing with one other person!

It is free to register on the site. Liftshare make their money by providing individual car-share schemes to councils, businesses, hospitals, universities, events and business parks etc. Big organisations such as BBC, Tesco, Virgin and the Environment Agency are all members. Liftshare is now the largest car-share network in the UK.

I work from home so it doesn't apply to me for work, otherwise in this economic climate I would certainly consider it - would you?

Have a look at the Liftshare website here and let us know what you think.