Did you know that we have a BMC Community Liftshare site here? The Liftshare site is able to connect you with others going to the same BMC event or Mountain Training course. The beauty of a community like the hillwalking/climbing/mountaineering BMC community is that many of us are often moving in the same direction. This lends itself to the Liftshare infrastructure which can allow us to move in the same direction – together. Greener, and cheaper!
Can you get to your next climb with a car load?
According to Liftshare, if half of UK motorists received a lift one day a week, congestion and pollution would be reduced by 10%, traffic jams by 20% and could save you an average of £1000 per year!
It’s really simple to use - simply create an account, sign in, add your journey (whether you’re driving somewhere or need a lift) and Liftshare will use their database to match you up with someone else going the same way.
The benefits are obvious, including helping the environment in reducing carbon emissions and reducing the amount of traffic on the roads, plus you might meet a new climbing or hiking buddy. But how does it work out in real life? We spoke to Eben Muse, Policy & Campaigns Officer for Wales to find out the highlights of his many years of lift sharing.
Eben happy en route to a great climb having bagged a lift share!
When did you first sharing lifts to go outdoors?
I started sharing lifts regularly when I first got interested in outdoor climbing at university back in 2015 – I didn’t own a car for a long time, so trying to hop in with friends was the only option. I’d like to think I got quite good at it – proposing a crag, fixing a couple of pairs, soliciting equipment from the club gear store. And off we go! Made a good bunch of friends that way who I still share lifts with to this day. I managed to squeeze so many lifts from friends back in the day, it’s nice to try and pay it back a little.
What kind of journeys does lift sharing help you with?
Climbing in South Wales we’re lucky that lots of our local crags are served by rail – the legacy of the coal industry and the sandstone quarries that were used to house all those workers. Unfortunately many of those old lines have been closed and some crags further afield are far away from any train stations, so sharing a ride there is by far the easiest and greenest way to get there (if you’ve got weak legs and are bad at cycling like me). Pembrokeshire, Gower, Wye Valley, and the east escarpments of the Bannau Brycheiniog are all prime lift-sharing fodder.
What's your best lift sharing experience so far?
Beyond those evening smash-and-grab lift shares that are so easily done in South Wales, I’d say that my fondest memory would be a road trip at the end of my second year at university, my friends Rosa, Meg, Adam and me, all stuffed with our tent and trad racks into a minuscule Ford Ka. We headed up to try out the grit and scaled Nape’s Needle, before heading to Scotland where the weather foiled our plans for the Cuillin. A wet Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis had to do. Abiding memories are cooking porridge in car parks and paying about £25 in petrol for the whole trip. Showing my age there…
Any amusing anecdotes?
I remember my old banger Toyota needing a push start every time we needed to go anywhere – it turns out doing so while parallel parked on a crowded terrace-housed street in Cardiff takes some doing (luckily I had 3 eager passenger-pushers). Breakdowns are always more fun with company.
What are the advantages?
Comradeship, extra spotters/belayers, conversation, switching drivers on long journeys, splitting the fuel tab, a wider diversity of snacks, better for the planet, passenger-seat-DJ… the list goes on!
Why should people use Liftshare over an old-fashioned facebook post or posting in the group chat?
The short answer is, if that’s working for you, keep doing it! The longer answer is that lots of us are no longer swimming in a sea of belayers, and sometimes connecting with strangers who are going in the same direction as you is a great tool, and maybe even a way to make new friends. The Liftshare site is also able to connect you with others going to the same BMC event or Mountain Training course. The beauty of a community like the hillwalking/climbing/mountaineering BMC community is that many of us are often moving in the same direction. This lends itself to the Liftshare infrastructure which can allow us to move in the same direction – together. Greener, and cheaper!
Why is the BMC in partnership with Liftshare?
As an organisation which has always looked to both connect people with nature and the outdoors, while seeking to minimise our impact, a partnership with Liftshare seemed like a natural one. They have a fine track record of facilitating shared journeys, and given that so many of our destinations as climbers and hillwalkers are sadly poorly served by public transport, encouraging our community to Liftshare more is a good idea.
How do we get involved with the BMC Liftshare community?
Simply visit https://liftshare.com/uk/community/bmc and begin registering your trips. Help us spread the word by sharing with your friends and clubs. And let’s get lift sharing!
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