Car Sharing - Get More From Ownership

But with congestion (and pollution worries) seeming to worsen by the year and car running costs soaring, it might be time to revise Maggie's maxim and start to squeeze more out of our car ownership.

Car sharing (according to one definition) is essentially a home-grown model of car rental where people rent cars from private owners, often for short periods, sometimes for as little as an hour a day.

ORGANISING INSURANCE

Sharings are co-ordinated by an outside agency, sometimes a business and sometimes a not-for-profit community enterprise, who act as an intermediary and broker the convenient use of your car. These agencies organise everything from booking to pick-up and insurance.

Car sharing like this car be an attractive proposition for car owners who only make occasional use of their vehicle, otherwise having it sat dormant on the drive or in the street. If you don't use your car every day it might be a cost-effective option for you.

THE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY OPTION

Car sharing is also of course the environmentally-friendly option. It reduces congestion and pollution and reduces the demand for parking spaces. Even more important for congestion, the strong metering of costs provides a cost incentive to drive less.

Companies like Whipcar are pioneers in this field. Check out the website for further details of their project.

CAR BUYING CHOICES

If you're thinking about buying a new car and have car sharing in mind, it might be worth considering a very low emissions vehicle, as these incur little or no charges from the tax man or city congestion chargers.

Some of the adverts we've seen on websites like Whipcar are for cars as varied as a Mini Cooper, the ubiquitous VW Golf, and a high-end Ranger Rover HSE. So pursue your new car choice and join a car sharing scheme to get more from your car ownership.