Owning a car can be an expensive business. With petrol, parking, insurance and other costs adding up to a lot of dosh. If you don’t use your car a lot, why not consider car sharing? It can save you a lot of hassle, and money too.

Sharing travel for all or part of a journey, especially regular trips like traveling to work, social or sporting events (this is also known as “ride sharing”), is a great way to save money, as well as being a fun way to get to know people.

Your work might have a car pool/sharing system - but you can start one up if they don’t. Websites like The Car Pool make it even easier to co-ordinate.

Alternatively, there might be a car share service in your area. These services enable you to book a car inexpensively for a few hours at a time. The costs of maintenance and insurance are covered in the fees you pay, and if you don’t use your car a lot you can save a lot of money. Some services also include the cost of petrol in the booking fee, further reducing your costs.

Some councils even provide free parking for such car share services, saving you $$ and hassle.

If you’re an employer - consider using car sharing services instead of purchasing your own car fleet. You could also set up a car sharing service for your staff, or perhaps even provide incentives for your employees if they car share.

Here are a few sites that might be useful:

• GoGet: Sydney and Melbourne
• Flexidrive: Sydney and Melbourne (Thanks Liz)
• Charter Drive: Sydney
• ecarpool.com.au: Clever Google Maps mashup for finding a ride
• Need a ride: Post your request or offer on this site to link up with others that are offering/looking for a lift.
• The Car Pool: This free site puts people in contact with others who want to save money by sharing their traveling costs.
• Google search for ‘car share australia‘ and ‘ride share australia‘