Why have a Car sharing Policy?

It is the policy of Drumchapel and Clydebank Kayak Club to promote the shared use of transport whenever possible. The purpose of this policy is to minimise carbon emissions caused through club activity, to avoid disturbance in remote areas and prevent club activity from becoming a nuisance to other water users and members of the public.

On-the-water departure points for club trips are often tight for parking space and situated in remote areas. Well-attended trips where club members arrive at the meeting point in their own cars, can result in these spaces being filled to overflowing and the activities of the club becoming a nuisance to other members of the public. (This is exacerbated where cars are left for lengthy periods of time) To minimise this disturbance, it is the policy of the club to encourage car sharing whenever possible. This will also have the added benefit of reducing the carbon emissions caused by club activity and by sharing the costs of fuel decreasing the trip costs for individual club members.

Please note, there is no requirement to share with anyone that you are not comfortable to share with.

Implement a car sharing policy

One way that this can be achieved is by meeting at the club stores and arranging for car sharing from there. There is adequate parking at or around both the club stores providing that the meeting time is early enough in the day. In addition, to further minimise the number of vehicles required for the trip, We have a club trailer (Currently stored at Miller Street, Clydebank) that can be towed by anyone with a vehicle equipped with a tow-bar.

We are aware that some club members travel from areas outside our normal catchment, and it is not convenient for those members to attend at the club store or to car share as no other club members live in their immediate locality. To avoid overcrowding at on-the-water departure points we should also make use of secondary meeting points where there is adequate car-parking and no time penalties for use. A list of suitable locations can be found below. We would encourage club members to apply this policy when attending a trip by nominating a suitable meeting point. This policy does not preclude club members from attending at the on-the-water departure point in their own vehicles, but efforts should be made to minimise this.

Possible secondary meeting points include:

1. Stirling Park and Ride
2. Crianlarich Public car park
3. Perth Park and Ride
4. Dumbarton Starbucks/Costa

5. Livingstone (M8)
6. Harthill Services (M8)

Using WhatsApp groups setup for specific trips is usually the best starting point for reaching out to other group members to share lifts. 

Considerations for under 18s 

Where persons under 18 years who are not part of your own family unit require transportation then the DCKC Child Protection Guidelines should be followed. This should not impact on car sharing as in the vast majority of cases this will involve adults travelling together however if you do provide a lift to junior members of the club you should make yourself aware of these guidelines and follow the advice found therein.

To summarise

1. there is no requirement to share with anyone that you are not comfortable to share with.

2. Every reasonable effort should be made to share car journeys with others for all club events including regular meetings and one-off trips.
3. When people travel from outlying places this may mean a small detour or meeting with others where routes converge to share from there.  Some meeting places are suggested above.
4. When looking for people to car share with, identify who lives near to you or who lives on whose route to typical paddle spots.  It may be wise to create groups to communicate with eg. car sharing buddies for regular pool/loch sessions .
5. When choosing between vehicles, preference should be given to vehicles with load carrying capacity (e.g. cars or vans that can take more than 2 kayaks or have tow bars fitted). These vehicles make life for the group and leaders much easier as having extra capacity allows many more options for shuttles, trips and team members generally.
6. While experienced members should understand how and why to carshare, new members may not initially be aware of the need to carshare.  In these cases, trip leaders and team members should gently let people know why we carshare for future trips.

Some suggestions for valid reasons for taking your own car alone. 

1. You are staying in the area already and so will not be travelling from Glasgow or the central belt area.
2. You don’t feel you know a person well enough yet to travel with them.