In 2021 I was looking out of the window at all the cars on the street and I realised just how little cars were used. I posted on my street WhatsApp asking people if they would share their cars and reduce the need for us all to own one. There were a lot of people interested.

I did some research and learned that it cost the average family nearly £4k a year to own a car (£300 per month). I also learned that most cars are only used 3.5% of the time, and that 25-50% of a car's lifetime carbon emissions are created during the manufacturing process. Sharing cars made sense.

I researched a number of car-sharing companies, and liked the look of Hiyacar. So I called them up and asked them to work with me in creating a new way of sharing cars in private groups.

So far the first closed loop trusted group - in East Oxford - works for us so well that we've sold our family car and are living car-free with three young children. But so far, so good. We use cars a lot less than we did and take the bus and cycle more. And if we do need a car, we just borrow one from our neighbours. It's easy. If our situation changes, we can always buy another car - it's not a huge deal.

Many people were interested in what we were doing so I started shareourcars - a movement to help people share cars in trusted groups in neighbourhoods, other community groups, or just with friends.

If you're interested in learning more, get in touch with me on shareourcars@gmail.com or sign up to our newsletter.