From Adrian Lane, Exeter 383262, July 01, 2008

REGISTRATION of new members on Carsharedevon.com has gone into top gear with 520 people signing up to the scheme in June.

Rising fuel costs and a promotional competition are thought to be the reasons for the record breaking month, with more than four times the average monthly registrations signing up to the scheme run by Devon County Council TravelWise, in partnership with Plymouth and Torbay Councils.

The lucky winner of the £100 of vouchers was Frank Reay, who was one of the 218 people who registered on the website between 7 - 14 June.

Frank travels from Torquay to Landmark Information Group on Sowton Industrial Estate in Exeter and is now sharing four days a week with Tom McGivern who lives about a mile away and also works on Sowton.

Frank said: "We take it in turns to drive and are hopeful that we will find other car share partners through the carsharedevon.com system. Our savings on fuel costs have been quite significant."

Two other lucky winners, Mary Reece and Mark Bailey, scooped a pair of tickets each to the Beautiful Days music festival at Escot Park near Ottery St. Mary in August. They were among existing members who visited the website to email friends about the system.

Mary Reece said: "I give a lift Mondays to Wednesdays at the moment but my car share partner is retiring so I shall be looking for carsharedevon.com to find me a replacement next academic term, from Exmouth to Exeter University and back, leaving at 7.15am and returning at 4:30pm. I can save £400 a year by sharing on just three days a week!"

Mark Bailey works for Mid Devon Transport Group and car shares daily with Sue Snell, from Sandford to Tiverton. Mark said: "It's part of my job to encourage other people to use green transport, including car sharing so I'm glad to be able to practice what I preach. I find car sharing a friendly way of travelling and enjoy the journey to work."

Councillor Margaret Rogers, Devon County Council Executive Member for Environment, said: "It has never been more important to consider the impact of our actions on the environment. Matching up with other drivers and sharing the empty seats in a car is a brilliant way of reducing your carbon footprint.

"It is also a great way of saving money - either by reducing the amount you use your car and therefore how often you need to re-fuel it or by receiving a contribution towards your fuel costs from your car share partner or partners. The high fuel costs we are all currently experiencing mean people can make considerable savings by car sharing."

Lesley Smith, Devon County Council's TravelWise Officer, who promotes the scheme said: "People who registered on the system some time ago but never found a match should refresh their search to check that they are registered correctly. In the five years since the scheme began, the information submitted by hundreds of people has been removed from the carsharedevon.com system because they didn't activate their search, their email address has changed or wasn't typed in correctly. I would ask people to check that they are still registered. The system can send anyone who has forgotten their password a reminder.

"Car sharers can also help spread the message to other motorists by displaying a car share windscreen sticker available from Devon County Council at travelwise@devon.gov.uk. The stickers bear the slogan 'Share cars, not queues'."

Of those signed up to carsharedevon.com, 85% want to car share for their commute whilst 6% want to car share for leisure activities, and 47% of members are male and 53% female.

Notes for Editors:

Councillor Margaret Rogers, 01297 680384.

Lesley Smith, Devon County Council TravelWise Officer, 01392 382089.