Car-sharing in Huntingdon has stepped up a gear after three major employers joined forces to cut congestion and help the environment. Staff at Cambridgeshire Police headquarters, Huntingdonshire District Council and social landlord Luminus Group have sig

Car-sharing in Huntingdon has stepped up a gear after three major employers joined forces to cut congestion and help the environment.

Staff at Cambridgeshire Police headquarters, Huntingdonshire District Council and social landlord Luminus Group have signed up to CamShare, the county's on-line car sharing scheme.

The drive was officially launched on Monday when Central Division Commander Simon Edens, vice-chairman of HDC Councillor Peter Bucknell, and Luminus Group chief executive Chan Abraham (all pictured here) shared a ride in an environmentally-friendly Honda Civic IMA to each of their respective office headquarters.

Nearly 2,000 staff, based at the three organisations' different sites across Huntingdon, Godmanchester and St Ives, will be encouraged to log onto the CamShare scheme to find a potential car buddy to share a lift to work - reducing the number of cars on the road.

Cllr Bucknell said: "The council has developed its staff travel initiatives over a number of years and we welcome the launch of CamShare in Huntingdon. We currently enjoy good levels of car sharing at Pathfinder House and taking this a step forward with our partners shows that we can all do our bit to help reduce car usage.

"We look forward to developing the scheme with other organisations for the benefit of all our staff and to help reduce congestion and benefit the environment as well."

The CamShare scheme is run by the Travel for Work Partnership, based at Cambridgeshire County Council. It has already been successful for major employers in and around Cambridge. The project aims to save money for commuters, reduce pressure on car parks and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

INFORMATION: CamShare is available to commuters of registered organisations. Employers wishing to find out more should contact Travel for Work on 01223 712429 or email info@tfw.org.uk

Picture: HELEN SOUTH (7052)