Archive Hour: West Dunbartonshire car scheme website aims to link up journeys

ECO-CONSCIOUS councillors are urging people in Dumbarton and the Vale to get involved in a green car sharing scheme.

As part of West Dunbartonshire Council’s (WDC) Green Dream initiative, it has joined forces with Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) to launch an internet site which allows employees to help the environment whilst getting to work.

But the car sharing plan — which can save participants an average of £1,000 a year — is also open to all members of the public and could be the start of a green revolution.

Councillor William Hendrie, SPT member for West Dunbartonshire and convenor for environmental services, said: “We’re really pushing for our staff to get involved, because we can all make a big impact on the environment by sharing our journeys.

“If people have to use their cars we want them to talk to their co-workers and find out if any of these journeys can be shared.”

Once you have put in the details of your journey the system simply looks for a match for you.

And as WDC tries to become even more eco-friendly it is reminding residents to ditch the car whenever possible and walk to reduce air pollution. The council recently ran vehicle emissions testing days, in partnership with the police, when vehicles were randomly stopped and tested.