Friends Helena Borseth and Julie Adam from Forres hope others follow their lead and reduce costs and vehicle emissions by sharing a car

A shared car owner in Forres hopes more drivers follow her example to save costs and vehicle emissions.

Retirees Helena Borseth and her friend Julie Adam have never looked back since agreeing to share a Citroën Berlingo in December 2021.

Helena explained: “It’s actually owned by Julie. When it was broken and she didn’t know whether to have it repaired or not, I offered to share my car with her. In the end Julie did have the Berlingo repaired but then my car broke down! To repair it would have cost more than the car was worth so we decided to share hers. We’re happy with the arrangement. We save money this way and still have access to a car when we need it.”

Helena and Julie share the insurance and road tax costs equally, and fill in the mileage used before paying for the diesel accordingly. Repairs are divided, depending on how much each has used the car. The pair meet and discuss matters whenever they need to and sort out the costs roughly every second month.

Helena said: “When the car is with me, I keep it in my driveway. Julie keeps it parked in the street in front of her house. We live about a 10-12 minutes walk from each other so just pick it up from where it is when we need it. Julie knows the regular event I attend and leaves the car free for me then.”

Both use the car around two or three times-a-week.

“Julie uses it to visit family in the Aberdeen area but for the rest we stay fairly local,” said Helena. “I mainly want access for getting out in nature - to go for walks in locations where it’s less easy to take the bus! We transport things such as bulky shopping, drive to the tip etc. I sometimes pick up my granddaughter or other family members who need a lift.

“We also visit friends out of town and take part in exercise classes in Findhorn, Rafford and Elgin.”

The good friends see each other regularly so warn each other a few days in advance if they require the car.

Helena finished: “If it happens that one of us spontaneously picks up the car if it is free, then we send a text about it. Sometimes we coordinate trips.

“We use the car more consciously this way and less than when we had a car each.”