The closure of Huddersfield railway station for all of September raises challenges for travellers. Many will endure the bus replacement services and the added time to their journeys, others will simply choose to drive and put up with the expected congestion which the shutdown will generate. But there is a mutual aid option too.
Car sharing offers the chance to turn this difficult moment into a positive experience and help to reduce our carbon impact, lessen air pollution, lower the cost of travel and improve our mental wellbeing. Car pooling can be invaluable in rural communities which often constitute ‘Public transport deserts’ according to the Campaign for Better Transport.
There is a long history of sharing to solve common problems over the last century, from the 1940s ‘Help Your Neighbour’ scheme where car pooling in London was rewarded with extra rations, to the contemporary ‘casual carpooling’ in the Bay Area of San Francisco, where people use recognised pick up points to fill up their cars and gain access to high occupancy vehicle lanes on major roads. Car sharing schemes in the UK have increased in recent years. According to a 2024 study of 10,000 motorists by Liftshare.org only 15% of work related journeys were shared, but 60% of those polled indicated an interest in doing so in the future.
So how can we respond to the station closure and the reduction in rail services with a new wave of car sharing in the Colne Valley and Kirklees and organise it in a practical and safe way that is able to adapt to our complex transport needs?
We suggest:
* Using the SMART FB page initially, to request or offer journeys and follow this up with direct messaging to arrange pick up points and timescales.
* Those with similar journeys and times of departure might want to form groups on other social media to assist this.
* Meeting at Marsden or Slaithwaite stations at the normal time of travel might help generate a sense of shared purpose.
* Agreeing in advance about sharing petrol costs or offering to repay the favour in future.
* Signing up to Liftshare.org or blablacar.co.uk as a long term travel option to share or offer journeys of any length or duration.
For anyone nervous about travelling with relative strangers, a good technique practised by the hitchhiking community is to take a selfie with the driver or take a photo of your vehicle’s license plate. Keen bloggers may wish to write about their experiences!
