When Skye McNamara heads to work tomorrow, she’ll be part of a growing movement of people to pool her cash with her colleagues and share a car to work.

Ms McNamara works in the regional centre of Ballina, but has opted to settle in one of the region’s many vibrant rural villages, resulting in a 20 minute commute to work.

“Public transport is simply not an option in our area,” said Ms McNamara, the Climate Action Project Officer at Ballina Shire Council. “The Casino to Murwillumbah Rail line has been abandoned and the majority of bus services are school buses, most of which feed only into the main population centres. Carpooling is the next best thing for people wanting to reduce some of the costs of commuting to work.”

Using the online carpool website www.ecarpool.com.au, Council has established a carpooling network for its staff, encouraging other businesses to follow their lead. “It’s a free service and it’s easy to use. We want our workers to drive a car less, not more,” said Ms McNamara.

The benefits are clear. Environmentally, emissions from fuel usage are decreased. According to Ms McNamara, travelling alone in a car produces around 300 grams of greenhouse gas per kilometre. “Workers can halve their emissions simply by sharing the car trip with another passenger,” she said.

Financially, with prices at the pump surging to record highs, carpoolers are saving big bucks by splitting fuel costs. There’s also the social benefit – getting to know your coworkers a bit better, and the improved camaraderie that comes from travelling together. Beyond these benefits, carpooling also has nice flow-on advantages for businesses, like allowing employees to get a head start on discussing work outside of work time, and improving your company image.

“Carpooling is cheaper for everyone. It’s a smart, sustainable means of transport that brings workmates closer, cuts fuel costs and reduces greenhouse gases.”