How two Liftsharers became friends for over 12 years

We thought we’d round-off #liftshareweek with a truly heart-warming community tale in what we’re calling ‘Find a Friend Friday.’ It’s the story of two people – Claire and Eddie – who have been sharing lifts since 2001, and have become the best of friends thanks to their time on the road.

This is just one example of the amazing connections being made while our community seeks simpler travel – be it to work, music festivals or wherever they need to be. We all have the right to stay mobile, regardless of how much money we make or if we own a car or not, so it’s really great to see so many of our drivers and passengers helping each other in the name of sharing.

Before we hand over to Claire’s incredible – and funny, story of friendship and travel, we want to thank everyone who has read our community stories during Liftshare Week, and we hope you have many more exciting trips planned together. We always love to hear these stories, so if you have one you want to share, please email us at superheroes@liftshare.com

So without further ado, here’s Claire…

“Successful car-sharing is something like a marriage,” she tells us. “In fact my husband has been known to ring Eddie to check what mood I am in!

“After 45 minutes morning and evening of each other’s company, no one can remain a stranger for long. Eddie and I soon became firm friends, and our respective friends became all of our friends! And as for other modes of transport we’ve shared with each other:

• A light aircraft over the Nasca lines in Peru
• A ferry to the Isle of Capri
• A canal boat across the Llangollen viaduct
• A cable car over Barcelona
• A tandem round the Forest of Dean
• A dune buggy across a desert
• A dugout canoe down an Amazon tributary

Claire and Eddie each saved more than £14,000 over their 12 years of sharing, and saved enough CO2 to offset 1,584 trees. “And then there’s the safety; leaving work late on a dark winter’s evening, it’s always comforting to have someone with you and during those unpredictable times like floods, roadblocks, snow and more, so it’s so much better not to be alone.”

Has there ever been a downside throughout this long and mobile friendship? Claire concludes, “Did we argue? Yes of course we did; about everything from nuclear physics to Andy Murray. And just like a marriage, car-sharing requires give and take. We both worked uncertain hours and we both sometimes had to stay late or leave early to accommodate the other.

“But just like a marriage, we worked it out and just looked at the benefits: having a great friend, meeting their friends, safety, company, saving money and doing our bit for the planet. Why doesn’t everybody car-share?”

Why indeed? And you needn’t look further than Liftshare Week’s inspiring human stories to see that sharing and being social with others really can make all the difference. That’s why we remain committed to enabling you to help each other get around the UK, because as we said at the start, everyone has a right to stay mobile, achieve simpler travel and make amazing connections.

Have a great weekend everybody, and we’ll see you again on the blog next week!