04.10.19
Car share scheme rolled out at Tring station
London Northwestern Railway have introduced an innovative car share scheme to save their passengers money while helping the environment.
Passengers travelling to Tring station are being invited to use a new scheme of sharing their journey to the station. The pilot scheme will use a website - wmtrains.liftshare.com – to provide a platform for train users to offer and make use of people in their area going to the same place at the same time.
Once connected, passengers can make private arrangements, splitting cost, time, petrol and parking to suit their own convenience.
Regular travellers will have the opportunity to make more permanent arrangements if their behaviour is habitual and coincides with each other’s daily schedule.
By sharing travel to the station and then using rail to get to work, the environmental impact is drastically improved compared to driving all the way to work individually.
Jon Harris, integration, accessibility and development manager at London Northwestern Railway, said:
“We know the experience of travelling by train does not start and end at the station and that is why we are working hard to improve the ‘Last Mile’ for our customers.
"Over a third of people who completed a recent travel survey at Tring expressed an interest in joining a car-sharing scheme. The support from the town and parish councils, as well as the local authorities, has been fantastic and already the scheme is being promoted at a grass roots level.
“By sharing transport to the station passengers at Tring can save a significant amount of money, reduce their carbon footprint as well as meeting new people.”
Accessibility improvement works are being carried out by Network Rail at Tring station, leading to a temporary reduction in car parking capacity, making it a perfect time to try the scheme.
Users are encouraged to contact each other through the secure messaging facility on the Liftshare website ahead of setting up their potential car share arrangements.
This new measure is the first of its kind, but it is expected that the scheme will blaze a trail for other stations to follow suit over the next 12 months as part of the rail operator’s commitment to Station Travel Plans promoting sustainable travel.
Car share schemes will target stations with larger car parks or where local circumstances such as building works may temporarily limit the amount of car parking available.