Carpooling: what it is, how it works and the benefits of sharing a car

Carpooling is the English term for sharing a car: several people travelling along a similar route (usually to or from work) ride together in one vehicle and share the cost of the journey. It does not involve renting a car or hiring a professional driver; it simply means making use of a journey someone was already going to make so that other people can share it. 

In Spain, carpooling has moved from informal arrangements between colleagues or neighbours to increasingly relying on car-sharing apps that help people find others whose route and timetable match theirs. At Waiis, we explain how it works in practice, whether it is legal to charge passengers and what the benefits are.

What is carpooling?

Carpooling means sharing a private vehicle with several people who are travelling along the same or a very similar route, usually on a regular basis (commuting to and from work every day or several days a week). The driver was going to make the journey anyway, so carpooling simply lets other people join them and share the cost, rather than each person using their own vehicle or a different form of transport. 

It is important to distinguish carpooling from other concepts it is often confused with: it is not the same as renting a car by the hour (that is carsharing) or booking a one-off journey with a professional driver (that would be a private-hire vehicle or taxi service). Carpooling is based on journeys that would have happened anyway, not on a transport service created specifically for the passenger. 

How does carpooling work?

Traditionally, carpooling relied on informal arrangements: someone would ask at work or in the neighbourhood whether anyone else travelled a similar route, and they would agree the timetable, meeting point and payment method themselves. This worked, but depended on already knowing someone with a compatible routine, which severely limited the possibilities if no such match could be found nearby. 

Today, much of Spain’s carpooling relies on platforms that automate this process: users enter their regular routine (day, time, starting point and destination), and the system automatically identifies other people with a compatible routine, without anyone having to search actively or agree all the details manually each time. Apps such as Waiis remove the most time-consuming part of traditional carpooling. 

Is it legal to charge passengers for sharing a car?

Yes, it is legal as long as the payment is a sharing of costs and is not a profit-making activity. The key legal distinction is the amount: the driver may charge passengers a proportionate share of the journey’s actual costs (fuel, tolls and wear and tear), but cannot turn carpooling into a passenger transport business without the relevant licence. Charging more than the actual cost of the journey on a regular basis with the intention of making a profit is what legally distinguishes a paid transport service from simply sharing costs between individuals. 

In practice, this means that sharing the cost of fuel, tolls or parking among the people in the car is perfectly legal and is, in fact, the basis on which all carpooling works. 

Benefits of carpooling 

Compared with other ways of reducing commuting costs, car-sharing offers a middle ground. Carpooling benefits everyone involved: drivers can reduce their costs, passengers get a more affordable travel option, and businesses can encourage more sustainable journeys among employees. 

• For drivers: save money by sharing a car and reducing the cost of a journey they were going to make anyway. In some cases, they may also benefit from additional incentives for sharing regularly, such as the Energy Bonus (CAE). 

• For passengers: access to a more affordable door-to-door journey than other alternatives, without relying on public transport timetables. 

• For businesses: less need for parking spaces and another way to meet their obligations under the Sustainable Mobility Act.  

For traffic overall: fewer cars carrying just one person at the same time, reducing congestion and emissions on routes into workplace areas. 

Why is carpooling growing in Spain?

Carpooling is not a new way to travel, but it is entering a new phase. What once depended on knowing someone who made the same journey can now be organised through digital platforms. 

The rising cost of running a car, the need to find more sustainable alternatives and the difficulty many people face in finding public transport that fits their timetable are making car-sharing increasingly appealing. 

There is also a shift in how people think about mobility: choosing between owning a car and using public transport is not always necessary. Sharing the available seats in a vehicle that is already making a journey makes better use of the resources we have. 

For businesses, carpooling is also taking on strategic importance. Employee mobility is part of the sustainability, parking and congestion challenges facing many workplaces, and encouraging car-sharing can be part of the response.