Diesel prices at 16-month high – Liftsharing saves £1,034 a year

The RAC recently confirmed that diesel is up 5p per litre to 147p and petrol is up by 3p per litre as the Iran war forces oil prices to skyrocket. 

But there is a way of dramatically reducing driving costs – carpooling. Liftshare has calculated that its members save an average of £1,034 each per year. 

Fuel-price rises have not been uncommon in recent years – the highest average prices in the UK came in 2022, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine caused diesel prices to jump to 199p per litre. Simply put, the cost of driving a car is unreliable and can become unaffordable at any time. 

Even without fuel hikes, driving is one of the most expensive forms of transport; the average yearly cost to run a car in 2025 in the UK was £3,484 according to NimbleFins. Unfortunately, the alternatives are few-and-far between for people living in rural areas, with many left with no option but to own a car due to a lack of dependable and affordable public transport. 

Carpooling has recently been backed by the International Energy Agency (IEA) as a way to reduce global energy consumption in light of the conflict in the Gulf. And their executive director stated that prices also meant people had a “big incentive” to adopt new strategies.

Join others carpooling

As a social enterprise, Mobilityways offers the Liftshare platform free of charge to members of the public, and has over 750,000 members. To find out how much you could save by lift-sharing, try the Liftshare Savings Calculator. People can join Liftshare as a driver or passenger, and add a journey for their regular or shift commute, as well as for one-off trips. Liftshare displays a suggested contribution against each journey, with payment being arranged between sharers. Or for regular journeys where more than one sharer drives, they can take it in turns driving, which also reduces the stress and tiredness of the commute. 

Commuter Census 2025 surveyed 5,166 Liftshare members and found that carpooling has grown in popularity in the UK since last year. Carpooling is back above pre-COVID levels of popularity from 2020 – when people were discouraged from sharing lifts to work. 16% of Commuter Census 2025 respondents said they now commute by carpooling, while 44% of people said they would consider it as an alternative to their current method of travel to work. 

Travelling alone by petrol or diesel car remains the most common option for commuting, with 40% of respondents getting to work that way – this leaves a significant opportunity for cost savings across the country. More people are commuting by driving alone in a petrol or diesel vehicle than 2024 (38%), despite the volatility of fuel prices. Therefore, carpooling remains an untapped solution to a common problem. 

Hear from Liftshare members

For Liftshare member Harriet Ninsiima, sharing a car has made the difference between keeping her job or not – it otherwise wouldn’t have been affordable: “I don’t think I’d still be working for the same company if I didn’t bring down my travel costs, but thanks to Liftshare, I am able to do the job I love with the company I love. Plus, sharing a lift gives me the space to have conversations with like-minded people about our challenges at work and at home, as well as just talk about silly life stuff – I have gained new friends.” 

Likewise, Lisa Tine has been able to save money lift-sharing. She says: “As I don’t drive, lift-sharing is a way more affordable and eco-friendly way for me to get to my internship.” 

Liftshare Community Manager, Amy Young, comments: “The fluctuating cost of petrol and diesel should certainly encourage more people to try carpooling. Sharing with just one person can cut your journey cost in two, while it may be the only reliable option for those who live more rurally. Where there is no public transport infrastructure, finding someone to share a lift with can make a real life-changing difference to a lot of people – not only financially but emotionally too.”

Join Liftshare for free, either at Liftshare.com, or download the Mobilityways app for Liftshare.