How safe is Liftshare?

Thousands of people use Liftshare every day – we now facilitate over 1,000,000 shared trips a month!

As the first car sharing service in the world to be awarded the Sharing Economy TrustSeal, we’re seen to represent the best practice possible in trust and safety. So, what safety measures are in place for those offering or taking a lift? Read on below…Sharing Economy UK TrustSeal Logo

Secure data

When you find someone on the site you’d like to share with, you can see their profile, first name, and picture (if they have one). They can see the same for you.

We don’t ever give anyone your surname, address, or email address. You don’t need to either!

Your mobile number (if you supply and verify one) will only be supplied to someone else after you’ve messaged and confirmed through the system that you’re definitely sharing a lift.

View the profiles of other members

When you’ve found someone who you think might suit your journey requirements, you can click on their picture to see their full profile. This will show you their full profile, which includes anything they’ve written about themselves (a biography), any journey offer or requests listed, the date they joined the site, and any verification they’ve undergone – including the number of Facebook friends, email verification, and mobile phone verification.

Ratings and reviews

When you’ve messaged someone or shared a car trip with them, you can give them a star rating out of 5, and leave a review. This helps give others an idea of their communication and driving skills, or how good a passenger they were. Looking at these reviews is a great way for you to decide if you’d like to share with someone.

For example, below, you can see that Artur has left another Liftshare member a review and rating after sharing a trip with them.

 

 

Get to know other members

The Liftshare site allows you to message other members and get to know them, as well as discussing travel arrangements, before you agree to anything. But there’s no need to stop there – why not meet them for a coffee in a public place first? The bottom line is, you should never get into the car of someone you don’t feel comfortable around, or let someone into your car that you don’t feel comfortable with, so meeting first to break the ice can give you a good idea of this.

We talked to Paul Wilde, who runs a Personal Safety charity, about the concept of network safety, and letting someone else know where you are when you meet someone new. We’d recommend you always keep someone you know in the loop. Read the blog on network sharing now!

Gender search

If you prefer, you can search only for lifts with those the same gender as you. When you’re looking for a journey, you can use the filter on the top right hand side to select the gender of those you’d like to share with. Or, if you leave it as is, you’ll find listings from everyone!

 

 

Car insurance when liftsharing

If you’re not generating a profit from the trip – and aren’t giving a lift to more than eight people at once – the Association of British Insurers states that normal car insurance policies are unaffected by car sharing.

The Liftshare system calculates a journey price based on the miles covered and the Government guidance for fuel contributions; so you can’t overcharge and won’t be classified as making a profit. The fees that drivers receive by sharing their spare seats instead just covers their petrol costs and some basic wear and tear.

How safe is someone else’s car?

If you’re a passenger, you may like to check the details of the car you’ll be travelling in. It’s really easy to do – just ask the driver for the number plate and make of vehicle, then use the Government’s MOT and Tax status checker to check up. The information is publicly available, so it’s fine to discuss with them.

Talk to us!

If you’re feeling unsure of anything, want some more advice on safety when sharing, or more information on how the site works, then our Membership Team are here to help. The team constantly moderate content, profiles, and photos, and are on-hand to help with your queries.

You can either:

Give us a call on telephone number 01603 389131
Drop us an email at support@liftshare.com
Tweet us at @Liftshare
Nip in to Liftshare HQ at 4 Duke Street, Norwich! (during UK office hours).

Author Lex Barber

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