Car pooling comes to the UK

Popular in the USA and in France car pooling is coming to Britain but on a commercial basis. 

French company, Comuto, is launching its successful service BlablaCar following a huge success across the Channel.  The name BlablaCar comes from drivers rating how talkative they are as ‘bla’ (not very chatty), ‘blabla’ (likes a natter) and ‘blablabla’ (won’t shut up).

The service, known as Covoiturage.fr in France, has been a phenomenal success amongst drivers and passengers alike who are frustrated at disruptions to air and rail transport and hard hit by increasing petrol prices and rising public transport costs. The site, founded in 2006, is growing by over 50,000 users per month, not only saving €100m since 2009 but also over 200,000 tons of CO2, making it an environmentally friendly way to travel.

To use the service, drivers post details of their trip and a suggested price, typically a proportionate contribution.  Potential passengers searching for a specific trip then choose whether or not this fits with what they want to pay.  However it is advisable to speak with your insurance company/adviser to ensure that both you and your passenger/s are covered for such trips, which are not hire and reward. www.blablacar.com

Index/Home page
 

OUR READERS' FINEST WORDS (All times and dates are GMT)

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum