Is car pooling now embedded in our habits?

It’s difficult these days to claim that you’ve never heard of car pooling! The phenomenon seems to be growing in scale, at least among certain segments of the population…

And the practice is expanding! During the Christmas period in 2011, the covoiturage.fr website recorded over 450,000 car-pooling journeys!

In June 2012, France 3 Alsace explained the fact that this new practice was becoming increasingly popular among young people and city dwellers. The reasons behind this appear simple. These two sections of the population rarely drive individually and many among them do not yet have a driving licence.

However, it would seem that this diagnosis can be mitigated …

This new type of mobility does not only concern towns and cities. It’s worth noting, for example, that car pooling may be suitable for small communities that are poorly served by public transport. At the beginning of July, Ouest-France reported on the elected officials of a small town in Brittany who have put their own car-pooling system in place: a great initiative! And the inhabitants seem convinced, seeing the opportunity to save money and the environment at the same time.

Promoting car pooling even further

The recipe for success certainly lies in economic reasons but let’s not forget the relational aspect of car pooling. Taking a journey with others can be much more pleasant and safer!

Several applications have been created in order to help this new mobility continue to develop!

As a public initiative the City of Lyon has recently developed an application for iPhones, tablets and Android to boost car pooling, we read on Lyon Mag. In mid-June, not long after the site’s launch, it had over 7,000 registered members.

As we explained back in January, this type of initiative is a genuine force for developing car pooling and making it more popular with French people who still have cold feet…

As for the Covoiturage.fr website, with support from the French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing, it made the most of European Mobility Week to launch Carpooling Day!