Nowadays most people use cars very frequently, so it is no wonder that even in groups strongly dedicated to sustainability cars are unavoidable, particularly in ecovillages which tend to be remotely located. Cars symbolize an increasingly individualistic lifestyle that depends on re-sources that strain the environment severely, either through congestions or emissions.

Transport and cars represent a dilemma and ambivalence. It is no wonder that many sustainable groups, wishing to minimize their ecological impact, are attempting to rely on ecologically and economically viable alternatives, such as various forms of public transport or, even better, bicycles!

However, the availability of public transport infrastructure varies widely from place to place. Many sustainable projects chose to be based in remote places, away from cities, shops, and offices, and also far away from other groups with similar values.

For such groups, cars remain a necessity. The question remains: how to use cars in a less environmentally harmful manner – while still using them to maintain everyday life with work obligations, friends/family relations, etc.

Some groups establish car-sharing schemes, thus using common cars more effectively: having on average more passengers per ride, distributing ownership and maintenance costs, reducing the number of cars on the road.

One possibility is to join an official car-sharing agency that offers car sharing in different cities. There are usually no car sharing opportunities in rural areas, but if there are enough people in the community who want to use it, car sharing agencies can be approached to install it even in villages. Another possibility is to self-organize a car-sharing system for the community. This usually works quite well even with privately owned cars.