Eco-friendly transport service launches

The service, at www.CarbonVoyage.com, requires users to input where they are travelling to and from. The lowest cost and most carbon-friendly options of travel – for example car sharing – are worked out and can be booked
online. Transport options initially include minicabs, executive cars, hybrids and airport trains.
 
Carbon Voyage works to reduce the cost of a journey by saving money, time and carbon. James Swanston, founder of Carbon Voyage, explains the concept: “Taxis and minicabs are empty a lot of the time, or only have one passenger,
particularly with airport journeys. Millions of people take cars to the airport, so imagine the savings for people's wallets if they could share a car to the airport and back. [This] will also reduce their carbon footprint and help reduce traffic congestion.”

The service will initially operate around London because of the high volume of cars that operate in the city. 
“There are almost 70,000 licensed taxis and minicabs in London so the impact Carbon Voyage can have
is incredible,” said Swanston.

A unified booking application allows Carbon Voyage to link up with Planet Positive and the Heathrow and Gatwick
Express, as well as a number of other ground transport suppliers, improving responsiveness as well as linking customers with other travel-sharing opportunities. 

The UK taxi and private hire industry consumes over 700,000 tonnes of fuel and is responsible for over 2 million tonnes of carbon emission each year. With some figures suggesting that transport is responsible for a quarter of
the world's carbon emissions, solutions are urgently needed to radically reduce the negative impact of transport on the environment.

Carbon Voyage has set itself up as “a low-cost, high-impact solution that can very quickly make transport more efficient and thus better for the environment without needing substantial investment in time and money from Government or industry,” according to Swanston.