IF YOU’RE counting the pennies — and who isn’t these days? — then one way to help cut costs is to keep an eye on the amount of fuel you use in your car.

And if you’re currently driving alone on your commute to work, you can indeed halve your fuel costs – simply by sharing your car with other people

That’s the message from Nottinghamshire County Council which is urging people to give car sharing a go as part of National Liftshare Week, taking place this week – Monday to Friday, October 6-10.

Car sharing – where two or more people travel together – allows people to benefit from the convenience of the car, whilst alleviating the associated problems of congestion and pollution.

The County Council uses the nationwide Liftshare website to host its own car-sharing scheme which is free to join and use and already has 2,189 members in Nottinghamshire.

Under the scheme residents – both drivers and passengers – can register and search for potential car sharing partners in their area.

You can share a car for any journey: getting to and from work, doing the weekly shop, taking the children to school, going to the match at the weekend, travelling to a festival, event or show, getting to or from university, visiting friends or getting to the airport – the choice is yours!

To join the Nottinghamshare car share scheme for free, visit www.nottinghamshare.com

The benefits of car sharing are that:

it saves you money – travelling with others can reduce your transport costs by up to £1,000 a year

it reduces the number of cars on the roads – resulting in less congestion, less pollution and fewer parking problems

it provides a real solution to the transport problems of rural areas

it gives employees and employers more transport options

it reduces the need for a private car.

“The benefits of car sharing are numerous,” says Coun Kevin Greaves, chairman of the County Council’s transport and highways committee.

“It reduces traffic pollution, frees up parking spaces and lowers the stress of rush-hour traffic.

“It can also be an enjoyable social activity as it gives you a chance to make friends.”