45% of UK workers would be more likely to work for an employer who offered an easy-to-use car sharing scheme, according to research published today by internet job site reed.co.uk.

Currently although transport problems cost British business Ł5 billion a year in lost productivity, only 5% share a car to work, according to research by reed.co.uk published last month. This new study surveyed over 3,000 people, and reveals that if reliable arrangements were organised by employers nine times as many individuals would use car share schemes.

This could mean up to 4.7million less cars on British roads on a daily basis, 16% of the total registered in the UK. Reduced congestion would in turn lessen lateness and transport stress, as well as reducing petrol consumption. ‘When I first started working for my company there were five people who lived in the same area as me so we shared lifts to work’, said one worker. ‘Now I am the only one left so it costs me a lot of money’.

Workers are most likely to use a car sharing scheme in Wales, where 60% of people would prefer to work for an employer who offered this. The proposal is least popular in the South of England, where the figure drops to 39%. The research indicates that men (48%) would be slightly more in favour of the scheme than women (44%). This is in line with the fact that over half of all male workers (53%) use a car to get to work,

compared to fewer women (46%).

	All	East Anglia	Home Counties	London	Midlands	N/East	N/West	Scotland	South	S/West	Thames Valley	Wales
% Travelling to work by Car	49	67	78	22	69	65	66	53	69	70	75	75
% Currently using car share	5	12	3	2	4	10	8	9	6	7	6	9
% preferring an employer offering car share	45	43	42	47	44	46	43	43	39	46	40	60

Paul Rapacioli, Director of reed.co.uk comments ‘The ability to take almost five million cars off the road is a social responsibility UK businesses cannot afford to ignore. An organised car sharing scheme would be an extremely cheap way of tackling congestion while being environmentally friendly. Moreover employees tell us that organisations who helped set up car sharing schemes would directly gain through better attraction and retention of staff, as well as strengthening the "informal network" within the company.

The Government faces a clear choice: is it willing to reduce road congestion at the risk of loosing revenue from petrol tax? The results of our survey show the benefits outweigh the costs’.

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For further information, please contact Tim Runacre on 0207 313 7458, Mob: 07779 789540 or Katy Nicholson, Press Officer. Mob: 07712 873780

Notes for editors

reed.co.uk surveyed 3,402 workers across the UK during April 2002. Vehicle saving statistics worked out by Number of People in Work 28.42million (Labour Market Statistics, Feb 2000) x Number that currently travel to work by car on own 49% x Number that would adopt a car share scheme 45% x Estimated saving 75% (Based on a car containing four people instead of one). Total registered vehicles in the UK = 28.9m (DVLA, 2000)
reed.co.uk is the UK’s leading internet job site with over 80,000 positions, attracting more than one million visitors a week.

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