Some good videos

December 18, 2010 by Leave a Comment

I thought I would add a couple of cool videos that I’ve seen!!! Both are linked in to The Prince’s Trust Accounting For Sustainability – all with some interesting characters in them. The first involves a number of business leaders including Sir Richard Branson, Deborah Meaden and Theo Paphitis and the second features Stephen Fry.  The first of the videos again highlights the point made in my last post about how sustainability can indeed assist in reducing the cost of doing business, and should be embedded into day to day process rather than operate as something that sounds nice in a CSR policy.

I saw another horrendous video yesterday on Mother Jones where they’ve uncovered an excerpt from some utterly ridiculous ultra-right wing religious fanatics claiming that environmentalism is part of some satanic world order – aside from dismissing the link between fossil fuel usage and climate change, I think that they perhaps miss the point in the Bible about being custodians of the earth – which we are all quite bad at!

Filed under General Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Why will people only share cabs during a tube strike?

June 21, 2010 by 1 Comment

On Wednesday, there is some likelihood that there will be a tube strike on the London Undergound and Docklands Light Railway. When it happened last year, there were a number of taxi sharing initiatives set up by Transport for London (TfL) that were reported on. It really is a shame that taxi sharing (and car sharing) is not part of normal life here as it is in other countries as it is a great way to save money, meet new people and reduce your impact on the environment. Peter Jackson from the BBC considered this last year during the tube strike and his leading comment was:

“Londoners hit by a 48-hour Tube strike are being encouraged to taxi-share to keep the city moving. It’s an idea that makes sense on any day of the year – but can the notoriously reticent British really take it to heart?”

It is an unfortunate set of circumstances but pretty true. Typically, our customers save 30% of the shared component of their fare when they share, so there is an economic argument in favour of sharing, and in these tough financial times, that’s not a bad deal.

PS. If you do want a cab during the strike, I would book early online or via 0844 669 4444!

Filed under General Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Launch of Tesco Carbon Voyage

June 16, 2010 by 1 Comment

We are launching a ride sharing service called Tesco Carbon Voyage this week in partnership with Tesco and the University of Manchester’s Sustainable Consumption Institute (SCI). The service will be operating as a twelve week trial at three of Tesco’s big stores in North West London; if it proves successful, it may be extended. To visit the site, click here. The service will be offered to Tesco Clubcard holders in three Tesco Extra stores in North West London.

This is a really important activity; 84% of all passenger car trips in the United Kingdom only have one occupant according to DfT figures, so any opportunity to increase vehicle occupancy can have a impact on reducing carbon emissions, congestion as well as cost. The service we provide will be great in being able to get a baseline of the impact of customer travel to and from these stores and then identify potential financial and environmental savings.

What we are trying to do here is firstly understand travel patterns to and from supermarkets and then provide Tesco customers with a safe and convenient way to share their trips to and from their stores. The customers of the service will be able to book via phone, text or online. We will capture all the financial and environmental data so customers can find out how much they are saving through the ride-sharing scheme.

At the end of the trial, the SCI will also interview several hundred participants to get a detailed understanding of their views to such a service – what is a good enough incentive to get people to share, what barriers are there and so on. Something that is unique here is that not only are people being surveyed about their travel patterns, but we have the opportunity to see what they actually do. The SCI has also written a short information piece on this trial here.

As a start up, this is a tremendous opportunity to deploy a service on a very large scale and demonstrate the value of what we have to offer, and we’re really pleased to have been selected by these organisations to help them deliver this service.

Filed under General Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Carbon Conversation

February 8, 2010 by 1 Comment

Last Tuesday, we were one of the presenters at the Carbon Conversation during which Greenbang and Cisco released a report which can be downloaded here. We discussed the basics around transport and the environment; ultimately there is a huge amount that businesses and organisations can do now to reduce their carbon impact, and saving lots of money at the same time.

The Carbon Conversation, February 2010: Carbon Voyage

Filed under General Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Interview with Founder

January 31, 2010 by Leave a Comment

A few months ago, James Swanston was interviewed by Hugh Mason of Pembridge to discuss his journey through the G2I program run in London.  Anyway, here is the interview!

Filed under General Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

New Carbon Voyage Business Portal

November 18, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Carbon Voyage has just released a new SME portal allowing our customers to have business accounts. This provides a simple to use web platform to manage ground transport needs (taxis and airport train services). The key benefits of using our service are:

Single portal to compare and choose different transport options and their different costs.

Ability to save money through sharing taxis and filling empty return journeys.

Financial and environmental reporting, and offsetting of carbon emissions (through Planet Positive).

Bookings can be made online or via our dedicated business 24/7 call centre. 

The service is presently available in London. If you are interested in trying the service, you can register online or email info @ carbonvoyage.com.  The full features are:

Bookings

  • Ability to book for people in your organisation. 
  • Passenger notification via sms optional.
  • Send courier packages via taxis.

Consolidated Management Information

  • Ability to see total business spend, team spend and/or individual spend (financial and carbon).
  • Bookings linked to cost codes.
  • All bookings recorded so there is a single consolidated receipt/ spreadsheet of entire transport spend.
  • Exportable spreadsheet/ .csv file to accounting software.

Sharing Portal

  • Ability to find your own shares within your network/ business.

Business Rules and Preferences

  • Pre-population of common business destinations (eg. Head office, branch offices).
  • Preferred fleets.
  • Permissions about using particular vehicle types.
  • Set approval limits for individual staff spend. When a staff member gets close to their limit, we will advise the manager who can then prevent future use/ increase budgeted spend etc.

Customer Support

  • Email Support.
  • Call Centre.

 

Filed under General Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

HEATHROW AND GATWICK EXPRESS LAUNCH ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY DOOR-TO-DOOR AIRPORT SERVICE WITH CARBON VOYAGE

June 25, 2009 by 1 Comment

Heathrow and Gatwick Express have launched the first ever environmentally friendly door-to-door service to and from the airport with Carbon Voyage. Travellers can book a pick up from either their home or office in a Carbon Voyage car and travel to Paddington or Victoria Stations where they will board the express train service to Heathrow or Gatwick Airports.

This new integrated service, which is booked on-line, means customers will only need to make one booking, to arrange a Carbon Voyage vehicle and train ticket. Train tickets will be sent electronically to the customers, saving postage and paper.

James Swanston of Carbon Voyage said, “From an environmental perspective, this new service will assist in taking cars off the road, reducing congestion and more importantly the pollution caused from the five million people per year that use taxis and minicabs to travel to and from Heathrow and Gatwick Airports. The average taxi trip from Paddington to Heathrow is approximately 6.2 kg of CO2 emissions as opposed to 1.4 kg using a train (Source: www.transportdirect.info ).”

George Fripp, Account Manager for Heathrow and Gatwick Express adds: “We wanted to optimise our offering and provide a best-in-class service and assistance to our travellers. This product is applicable not just to our UK customers as it can be booked on-line it is just as relevant for international travellers coming into the UK.”

Jonny Goldstone of Green Tomato Cars, London’s largest exclusively green taxi company said. “By working with Green Tomato Cars, the service combining Carbon Voyage and Heathrow and Gatwick Express demonstrates that travellers can easily “go green” without settling for a lower quality of service or paying a premium – customers will experience smoother journeys, excellent customer service, reduce their environmental impact and pay less for the journey all at the same time.”

Prices start from £32 and can be booked online at www.carbonvoyage.com

Filed under General Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Carbon Voyage launches booking service to lower cost and carbon of car rides

March 6, 2009 by Leave a Comment


  • Passengers share rides and find cars on return journeys
  • Companies and customers cash in and cut carbon

LONDON, UK, February 25, 2009 – Carbon Voyage today launches a car-booking service that helps people to cut the cost and carbon footprint of using private car hire.

Customers are already using the service, which is in beta trials, to share cars with other people and take advantage of the wasted return journeys minicabs make.

“Tough economic times are opening doors for cost-saving businesses,” says James Swanston, CEO of Carbon Voyage. “The beauty of our service is that it makes car travel cheaper and cuts the environmental impact of private-hire cars.

“It’s important for us to deliver value but also do our bit to tackle climate change. That’s what green business is all about.”

There are some 66,000 taxis and private-hire vehicles in London, according to the National Office of Statistics. It is estimated that private hire vehicles are empty up to 45 per cent of the time, according to Government figures. This is called ‘dead mileage’ is regarded by car operators and environmentalist as an extremely wasteful use of a journey.

The BBC annually spends £19 million on taxi and private car rides, while the demand to cut carbon footprints and costs continues to rise.

The Carbon Voyage experience promises to give a safe, low-cost and carbon service to customers in the London area.

Anyone wishing to trial the beta service should contact: info@carbonvoyage.com

Filed under General Tagged with , , , , ,

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 871 other followers