Covid-19 & car-sharing; Daniel & Tom’s story

Old college mates, Daniel and Tom had been sharing the journey to work together for a number of years before the pandemic hit. In their roles as Service Technicians, they worked the same 4 shifts on and 4 shifts off, so decided it made sense to share the travel costs of the 118-mile round trip. 

Financially, car sharing made a huge difference to the pair, each of them saving a minimum of £140 per month.  Splitting travel costs wasn’t the only benefit however. As car sharers, they enjoyed priority parking and having a friend to chat to during the hour-long journey. 

Like the 8.9 million people furloughed during the outbreak of the Corona virus in 2020, the commute ceased to exist for Daniel and Tom. Despite being a difficult time for many, furlough did provide Daniel the freedom to be with his family and spend time with his new daughter Mabel, who was born in February 2020. 

A fixed return to work date remained uncertain for most of the year, but Daniel and Tom were invited back to the office on an ad-hoc basis over the summer. They continued to share their journey, following government guidance, as and when they had to go back into the office. 

The pair are now looking forward to returning to the office on a full-time basis in July 2021 and plan to return to their regular lift-sharing schedule. The financial impact is huge, collectively the pair save about £ 3,500 every year. The implications for the environment are even bigger. Daniel and Tom save an average of 3 tonnes of CO2e every year, that’s the equivalent of a return flight from London to Perth, Australia! 

Simply put, sharing a lift has made travelling to work considerably more affordable and convenient for both parties. Having someone to speak to throughout also makes the journey go quicker. After 15 months of being on furlough, the affordability, convenience and companionship are now more important than ever. 

Daniel believes car sharing has been a huge benefit to both he and Tom, before and during the pandemic. “I would always recommend car sharing! It’s a no-brainer when you can save that amount of money! And it’s great to have someone to chat to.”