Carpooling website clicks into gear

Hamilton motorists can halve their fuel bills by clicking on to the www.letscarpool.govt.nz website and sharing rides with other commuters.

The online carpooling initiative allows commuters to search online for other people in their area, and arrange pick-ups and drop-offs before and after business hours.

Potential ride sharers register as users on the site, and can meet other users before committing to carpooling, to ensure they are comfortable with who they will carpooling with and that arrangements are suitable.

The carpooling website meshes well with Hamilton City Council’s Access Hamilton Strategy, which aims to reduce traffic congestion and improve flows on the city’s road network, says Councillor Daphne Bell, chair of Council’s Sustainability Working Group.

“Carpooling is one of the most sustainable ways of travelling,” Cr Bell says. “It reduces the number of vehicles on our roads, and therefore the use of fossil fuels and your impact on the environment – and better still, you can potentially halve your weekly fuel bill.”

Cr Bell says carpooling could be particularly beneficial for commuters who travel to Hamilton from satellite towns such as Cambridge or Te Awamutu.

“A Cambridge commuter who carpools with another person could save themselves $30 a week in fuel bills, or $45 a week if they carpool with two others.”

With major roadworks underway on the Hamilton Ring Road project in the city’s northwest expected to mean traffic delays, Cr Bell says the time has never been better to begin carpooling with neighbours and work colleagues.