Collect 3,000 Nectar points for carpooling as new report shows commuters are prioritising cost

The UK’s largest carpooling community, Liftshare.com, is teaming up with Esso on its Thoughtful Driving Initiative. In particular, helping people find ways to take fewer car journeys and rewarding them for lift-sharing.

Journey matching platform, Liftshare.com is provided for free to members of the public by Mobilityways, a certified social enterprise. And Esso is supporting them to encourage even more drivers to share journeys, with up to 3,000 Nectar points on offer per person (equivalent to at least £15) between 26th June and 2nd October 2024. Plus, a special prize of 20,000 Nectar points (worth at least £100!) for the person that shares the most during this time.

Mobilityways founder Ali Clabburn was featured on BBC You and Yours on Radio 4 yesterday (25th June) in a discussion about the prohibitive cost of car ownership. He shared results from the company’s soon to be released Commuter Census 2024: “We’ve seen the biggest increase in car sharing in the last year that we've ever seen. It's up 22%, which is huge. There has also been a large increase in bus use for commuting, up 17% just in the last year too.

“Sentiment is that people are thinking about costs more now. They used to think about trying to travel the quickest way and now they are definitely trying to find the cheapest way, because as we've been hearing from all the calls in, the cost of driving a car is prohibitive. It’s rocketed and is now, on average, over £5,000 per person each year.”

Commenting on the Nectar points offer for Liftshare members, Amy Young, Senior Marketing Manager at Mobilityways says: “Our aim is to promote long-term lift-sharing to take as many miles as possible off the roads, and we can continue to incentivise people to share thanks to the Thoughtful Driving initiative from Esso. As well as cutting your travel costs in half – on average Liftshare members save £1034 per year - the bonus Nectar points provide an additional reason for people to try lift-sharing and begin to make a habit of it.”

To qualify for the 3,000 bonus Nectar points, Liftshare members should authenticate their shared journeys in the Mobilityways app and then make a qualifying purchase at one of around 1,000 participating Esso service stations. Lift-sharers will get 1,000 Nectar points after their first trip authentication and Esso purchase, and an additional 2,000 points for their 10th trip authentication and subsequent Esso purchase before 2nd October.

For more information about the Nectar points offer visit Liftshare.com or download the Mobilityways app today. And search ‘Thoughtful Driving’ to find out more on Esso’s initiative.