MOTORISTS are being asked to open their car doors to fellow commuters with a new lift-sharing scheme aimed at cutting the congestion on Oxfordshire’s roads.

County Hall is to spend £30,000 over the next three years to run a website called Oxfordshire Car Share which encourages people to travel together to save money on fuel and parking, and cut carbon emissions.

The authority will spend a further £4,500 advertising the online service, which matches up drivers and passengers who are doing similar journeys and can realistically commute together.

Liftshare, the private firm operating the website, estimates the average commuter saves £780 a year by sharing a regular journey.

Travel planner David Early said: “We have built our society over the last few decades by car and some journeys you can only realistically do by car as public transport does not go everywhere.

“This is about making better use of the cars we have, and the more people we can get car sharing the more people we can get on the road.

“Sharing a lift with someone can enhance your journey to and from work.

“People who drive with someone else in the car are often less stressed because we behave better when other people see us.

“The cost of transport projects can be enormous but this is a very cost effective project which can realistically benefit thousands of people.”

The council’s accident data technician Chris Woodcock car shares with his wife Naomi, and his colleague Lisa Carroll.

Mr Woodcock, 31, who lives in Swindon, estimates sharing the car twice a week for the 60-mile round trip has saved his colleague about £300 a year. In return, she gives him vegetables she has grown.

He said: “I’m not an eco-warrior, but we knew Lisa was getting the bus and having to leave extremely early in the morning.

“Originally we didn’t ask for anything, but Lisa’s a heck of a gardener and we get some very good courgettes, tomatoes and other things.

“We didn’t know Lisa at all when we started but we have gained a new friend now.”

Car shares can be arranged for commutes to and from work or to and from the shops and users do not need to be a car driver or owner to register.

Rodney Rose, the county council’s cabinet member for transport, said: “Car sharing is a win-win situation. It allows individuals to benefit from the convenience of the car, while cutting car use on our busy roads.”

For more details and to register for the scheme, see oxfordshirecarshare.com