Car Sharing at UHP
Did you know that University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust has recently relaunched a car sharing platform called Liftshare? We have been talking to a group of staff in the Anaesthetics Department who currently already car share to work to find out the benefits.
Lauren, and some of her anaesthetics colleagues, recently decided they wanted to reduce their carbon footprint by car sharing their commute to work, as well as the side benefit of saving money (even more relevant since fuel prices have risen). They started in March 2022, and on average, there are about two to three shares per week, with 15 colleagues involved in total.
Within the anaesthetic department there are several permanent staff, such as Lauren, who live a considerable distance away from UHP. Trainees, who rotate through different hospitals during their training, also often live elsewhere. It is a huge amount of travelling, and it made sense that those that live on the ‘A38 corridor’ should car share, particularly since there is a standard start and end time to the anaesthetic working day. So, the staff simply communicate what days they want to car share, and see who else is working those days. No money changes hands, and they take it in turns to drive. There are a couple of regular meeting places outside group member’s houses, one of which is within cycling distance for Lauren, lowering the carbon load even further!
The benefits for the group are more than just the money and carbon savings. Lauren said “It’s been really nice to get to know my colleagues better; we’ve had some brilliant car chats. We even managed to do some viva practice for a trainee who had an exam coming up!”
Maybe you and your team could do something similar, or if you’re keen to car share but not sure who does, why not list your journey on the Liftshare platform and see if someone is currently doing the same or similar journey.
Here’s how to get started:
- Sign up to https://liftshare.com/uk/community/derrifordhospital
- Add your journey and find a match
- Send a message to your match to arrange the best time and place to meet
- Form your Liftshare team by sending or accepting a request to share
- Share your journey and start saving!
If you have any questions about Liftshare, how it works or safety guidelines, their FAQ’s can be found here. For further information, please contact the Sustainability Team: plh-tr.sustainability@nhs.net
