It may not be good news for railways, coach operators or taxis, but in some parts of Europe, car sharing start-up BlaBlaCar.com is changing how millions of people travel.
BlaBlaCar is a simple online service that matches drivers to passengers. The idea is that the cost of travel is shared; drivers are not meant to make a profit.
Would-be passengers simply visit the site and enter their start and end points. A list of drivers going in that direction then appears, with the cost-per-passenger listed beside each ride.
The driver is then contacted by the would-be passenger, then if all goes well, a pick-up point and time is arranged.
Could this service cut the cost of your next road trip?
If you're heading to Europe on a road trip this summer, then BlaBlaCar could be a great way to cut the cost of petrol. If you're travelling between, say, Paris and Berlin, you can simply advertise your journey on the site and cut your fuel bill in half – or even slash it down to 25 per cent, depending on how many people you can fit in your vehicle!
What about insurance? Are passengers covered?
According to the BlaBlaCar site, your regular insurance covers your passengers.
What about breakdown cover?
Naturally, if you take out annual or short term European cover with startrescue.co.uk, you'll be covered for breakdown no matter who is in your car.
And if any BlaBlaCar passengers have our innovative Personal Cover policy*, they'll be able to benefit from our expert recovery services in Europe**.
*Please note that you'll need to nominate a vehicle that will be covered in Europe with our Personal Cover. Only this nominated vehicle will be covered in Europe.
**See our policy terms for details on which countries we cover in the instance of a breakdown.
Breakdown Cover from 
