234car - personal costs and savings

Most people will want to share the costs of any 234car journey. Many will happily make their own arrangements - you may decide to take it in turns to use your car or you may decide that you don't really need that second family car now that you car share. It's entirely up to you what arrangements you make - the 234car system merely matches you up with other travellers and you do the rest. However, here is some guidance that you might find useful.

How much does it cost to drive my car to work and how much will I save?

These are two very similar questions. The Tax Allowance for car use gives us a conservative picture of car expenses. Your mileage cost will probably be between 20p and 60p per mile. In general, the smaller your engine and the more miles you drive per year the lower the cost per mile. If your car has a 2000cc engine your costs will probably be between 45-65p depending on how many miles you drive. If you drive a car with a 1000cc engine it will be more like 25-35p. Of this, your petrol will probably cost about 14p a mile, maybe a little more.

As a driver you should not expect to make a profit from car sharing, but it's reasonable to expect a proper contribution from a passenger towards petrol and parking. If you have 2 passengers it's reasonable to expect that between them they will pay for all your petrol for the journey, and maybe the parking too, since you are paying for the other costs.

As a passenger you should expect to make a contribution to the costs of the driver. Think how much you are saving by car sharing.

Suggested method of sharing costs

We suggest a rate of 14p a mile for occasional or one-off journeys and 9p a mile for regular commuting and regular arrangements. You should also include a share of the parking charges if there are any. If you are picked up from your front door we suggest an additional fee of 50p (regular) or £1 (occasional). If you are picked up nearby we suggest a fee of 25p (regular) and 50p (occasional). If the pick up occurs on the driver's normal route (for example, if the passenger is walking or cycling to the most convenient point for the driver) then no pick up fee should be included.

If you are doubtful, then try this system to start with and review it after a week and then again after a month.

Most people find it very easy to come to an arrangement and most actually prefer having company on the journey too. Happy car sharing.