The New South Wales Government is pursuing a range of initiatives to reduce car dependency and improve air quality in accordance with the NSW State Plan. Car pooling or ride sharing, is a great way to reduce single occupant vehicle travel, particularly for journeys to and from work and where public transport is limited.
The Government supports car pooling because of the environmental and community benefits.
LATEST NEWS – JUNE 2011
Roads and Maritime Services (replacing Roads and Traffic Authority) is carrying out video surveys of six parking locations near major road interchanges on the Central Coast and the Illawarra to better understand car pooling at these sites.
What is car pooling?
Car pooling is the sharing of rides in a private vehicle among two or more individuals. It involves the use of a person's private or company vehicle to carry one or more fellow passengers, either by using one car or rotating cars.
Benefits of car pooling
For individuals:
- Reduced travelling expenses and need for second car.
- Improved travel times through use of transit lanes.
For the community:
- Reductions in vehicle emissions.
- Reductions in traffic volumes and congestion.
- Provides an alternative, cost effective travel choice.
- Improving the environment.
For companies that arrange car pooling:
- Maximising use of employee parking.
- Encouraging sociability between your employees.
- Reducing stress in driving to work.
- Improving company image.
- Can be included in staff benefits package.
Potential options for car pooling
- With your friends and neighbours.
- With your work colleagues. Talk to your employer about commencing a car pool scheme for your workplace. Maybe there are other work places around you that may also wish to join your scheme.
- Through your University of TAFE - Talk to your university administration or student union about commencing a scheme for students.
- Park and Ride. This has potential for car commuters who travel long distances to their workplace each day within Sydney metropolitan area to park and ride together, ie. Central Coast, Wollongong and Blue Mountains.
Car pooling surveys at Kariong, Ourimbah and Mount Ousley
Roads and Maritime Services (replacing Roads and Traffic Authority) is carrying out video surveys of six parking locations near major road interchanges on the Central Coast and the Illawarra to better understand patronage and safety issues at these sites in June 2011.
The surveys will involve recording car pooling sites from a temporary high mast camera.
The survey sites will be at:
- Kariong including stretches of The Avenue, Curringa Road, Fox Close, Arunta Avenue, the Central Coast Highway and Kangoo Road.
- Ourimbah - near the F3 interchange.
- Mount Ousley - just off the F6 on Mount Ousley Road.
The video surveys will operate from Tuesday 7 June to Thursday 9 June between 4am and 9am and between 3pm and 8pm.
The survey is part of Roads and Maritime Services (replacing Roads and Traffic Authority)’s research into the demand for car pooling and will help in planning facilities for people who want to car pool.
Footage will be used only to help Roads and Maritime Services (replacing Roads and Traffic Authority) to analyse car pooling patterns and safety issues.
Number plate information will not be collected and the footage will not be used for traffic enforcement purposes.
The survey will help Roads and Maritime Services (replacing Roads and Traffic Authority) to better understand:
- The timing of vehicle arrival and departure
- How many seats car pool vehicles have
- How many passengers are in the vehicles at both arrival and departure
- How many passengers were picked up and dropped off
- How people travel to the car pool site
- How safety at the site can be improved
Carsharing
Carsharing is a model of car rental where people can rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. The organisation renting the car can be a commercial organisation or a cooperative of individuals and is practiced in over 600 cities worldwide. Roads and Maritime Services (replacing Roads and Traffic Authority) recognises that car share parking offers an alternative transport facility that conforms to government transport and environment strategies.
Roads and Maritime Services (replacing Roads and Traffic Authority) has produced a technical direction that specifically offers guidance on the provision of on-street car share parking that is located on local roads.