THE government is urging Manx residents to get involved in next week’s campaign to share car journeys to encourage energy saving and greener travel.

The Department of Environment Food and Agriculture’s message is: “save yourself money and help the environment at the same time”.

The event is called “Journeymatch Week” and starts on Saturday (October 4th). It aims to encourage commuters to discover the benefits of sharing their journey and Island residents are encouraged to search for someone to share their journey with at www.journeymatch.im. 

With petrol prices hitting a record high this year, the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture is encouraging people to try filling their empty car seats for the first ever Journeymatch week on the Island which coincides with Liftshare week in the UK.

"We're asking everyone in the Island to look at how often they travel alone by car," said John Shimmin MHK, Minister for DEFA. "There's nearly always someone going the same way - especially on the daily commute - and if you take a passenger or two you'll probably save yourself hundreds of pounds a year, as well as helping the environment and easing congestion."

You don't need your own car to join Journeymatch.  Many members are happy to give someone a lift in return for a contribution to the fuel costs and a bit of friendly company.  Hundreds of people will be giving car-sharing a try during the first ever Journeymatch Week. 

In a statement issued today,  the department said: “We encourage everyone on the Island to be part of this movement towards greener travel.”

Journeymatch is an Energy Initiatives Capital Fund financed project which enables Isle of Man travellers to find matches for their journeys to reduce their travelling costs, reduce their carbon emissions, and make new friends.

It is an Isle of Man web page front end to the UK Liftshare site. The project launched in Spring 2009, and now has nearly 250 users.