Soaring petrol prices earlier this year have caused a surge in membership of Bradford’s car-share club.

More than 800 people have now signed up to the cost-cutting website, which can save those who share their journeys £1,000 a year.

Bradford Council’s transport planner Fiona Limb said: “We have had a really big increase over the summer when the fuel prices shot up.

“More than 100 new members signed up, meaning just over 800 in total now. The knock-on effect is that members now have more chance of finding someone to car share with.”

She said it could be a New Year’s resolution for people to sign up to share their car on regular journeys and cut costs for both driver and passenger.

The website was set up in 2006 and covers West Yorkshire with 300,000 members. People in Bradford, Leeds, Kirklees, Calderdale and Wakefield can log on to a database linking people to share journeys.

Each Council runs its own carshare website, with Bradford’s available at bradfordcarshare.com.

As well as saving money on petrol and parking, car sharing also cuts down on pollution and congestion.

Anyone who signs up to the website will be sent information in the New Year to enter a prize draw – Cash In Your Empty Seat.

Bradford is also home to the first motorway car share lane in Britain which opened in March. The project links the southbound M606 at Chain Bar to the eastbound M62 towards Leeds.

The 1.7-mile lane saves drivers up to eight minutes per journey.

Built by the Highways Agency, it is open to cars and taxis with two or more occupants, buses and coaches.

Commuters can bypass congestion at Junction 26 of the M62 and gain priority entry on to the eastbound M62.