Aycliffe Today Business | Page 22

22 | Aycliffe Today Business Discover the Organisational Benefits of a Corporate Lift-Share Scheme Lift sharing is becoming increasingly popular as the benefits to employees and businesses are becoming more apparent. Not only a cost effect means of commuting for employees, corporate LiftShare schemes offer organisations the chance to widen their potential pool of employees and can free up the demand for onsite parking. A successful Lift-Share scheme will also support business sustainability objectives and show a commitment to corporate social responsibilities. Widen your potential pool of employees Lift sharing enables those without a car to have another travel option available to them; this could significantly widen your recruitment pool as more than one quarter of households in County Durham do not have access to a car. Lift sharing makes getting to work easier, it is affordable for everyone and a great way for your employees to network, meet new colleagues and make new friends. Free up the demand for onsite parking Lift sharing can significantly reduce the number of cars accessing your site, saving you money on car parking. The annual cost of maintaining one car parking space can vary from £400 to as much as £2,000, dependent upon location. Offering dedicated car share parking on site will encourage your staff to make the change. Improve your corporate image By signing up to, and actively promoting a corporate Lift-Share scheme within your organisation, you are contributing to business sustainability objectives and validating a commitment to the local community in supporting the reduction in congestion, pollution and noise. Average car occupancy is currently 1.57 persons per car. If this were to increase by 50% (to 2.36) it would lead to a fall in traffic of one third, significantly reducing congestion and improving journey time reliability. How much can our employees save by lift sharing? The average commuter can around £967 and 1 tonne of CO2 per year by sharing their daily journey; a small change which would mean a cheaper, greener and healthier journey for your employees. So what exactly is a Lift-Share scheme? Lift sharing is where there is more than one occupant in a private car. Local Motion supports organisations and businesses to set up organised lift sharing, connecting people travelling in the same direction so they can arrange to travel together and share the costs, whilst reducing congestion and pollution at the same time. How do we set up a Lift-Share share scheme? Contact Local Motion, and we will hel