One-in-four Irish people ‘carpool’ to get to work or in their daily lives, according to Newstalk’s exclusive Transport Survey.

The poll, carried out by Amárach Research for Newstalk, includes a host of fascinating findings about Ireland transport system – including the fact that 60% of people would give up their car for ‘reliable and frequent’ public transport.

It also found that nearly eight-in-ten people want to see more road upgrades and 60% want more motorways – with nearly one-third believing that Ireland has become ‘anti-car’.

On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, reporter Sarah Madden investigated the finding that 24% of people carpool as part of their commute.

The poll found that under-35s are most likely to carpool (30%) – and people are less likely to do so as they get older.

Meanwhile, women (29%) are significantly more likely to carpool than men (19%).

Do you carpool?

Sarah began by asking Dubliners if they would be happy to share a car with a work colleague – or even a stranger.

“No, straight up, I would not,” said one.

“It may be an hour commute in, eight hours with them and then an hour commute home – it’s probably a bit excessive, to be honest.”

Others were more into the idea.

“It’s not as bad for the environment,” said one woman. “It’s also the company, you get a good laugh and you’re with your friends. You get to chat and relax.”

Romance

Amy Young from LiftShare, a ridesharing app with more than 700,000 members UK and Ireland, said the core age bracket of the app’s users are young people and people in their 30s.

“They are typically doing journeys for work and regular commutes but, this time of year, we get a massive uptick because people sign up to go to festivals,” she said.

“We’re also trying to grow the market for sports and people travelling to away games.”

Ms Young said there’s a surprisingly romantic side to carpooling for some.

“You never know who you’re going to meet on a lift-share journey,” she said.

“We’ve got some nice stories on our blog about people falling for someone who turns out to be a life partner.

“We also hear that about travelling to festivals – part of the fun is meeting people with similar tastes in music and sharing that journey.

“Sustainability is up in the top three factors too.”

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan on his way into Cabinet. Image: Sam Boal/RollingNews

Ireland has some of the highest transport emissions per capita in Europe and Transport Minister Eamon Ryan told Sarah that rising temperatures on the west coast “force us to think, we have to change our ways”.

He said the Government’s new Smarter Travel Mark recognises organisations that support sustainable travel and a reduction in the usage of single person cars.

The mark was launched last month and 30 companies have already signed up.