French Word of the Day: Covoiturage
It's far from a new concept, but it does have a relatively new word.
Why do I need to know covoiturage?
Because the price of petrol at the pumps is sky-high and we all need to find ways to cut the cost of our daily commute and other journeys. It’s more environmentally friendly too.
What does it mean?
Covoiturage - pronounced co-vwah-ture-arj - is French for car-pooling or car-sharing.
It’s easy to dismiss it as a 21st-century means of giving someone a regular lift - but these days it’s quite the business, with a number of apps - think Blabla Car or Mobicoop - allowing people to make regular or one-off travel more affordable by sharing the cost of a car journey.
People who carpool are known as covoitureurs.
And there are areas on the outskirts of towns and cities across France, known as Aires de covoiturage, where people from different locations can meet, park their cars and complete their journeys in one vehicle, to cut costs.
The co prefix is used in many French words to mean sharing such as colocation - house-share or apartment share - or the widely-used English language imports cohoming and coworking.
Use it like this
Faire du covoiturage - car-pool
Des réseaux sociaux en ligne aident à planifier le covoiturage et à connecter entre eux les covoitureurs – Online social networks help plan carpools and connect carpoolers
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Why do I need to know covoiturage?
Because the price of petrol at the pumps is sky-high and we all need to find ways to cut the cost of our daily commute and other journeys. It’s more environmentally friendly too.
What does it mean?
Covoiturage - pronounced co-vwah-ture-arj - is French for car-pooling or car-sharing.
It’s easy to dismiss it as a 21st-century means of giving someone a regular lift - but these days it’s quite the business, with a number of apps - think Blabla Car or Mobicoop - allowing people to make regular or one-off travel more affordable by sharing the cost of a car journey.
People who carpool are known as covoitureurs.
And there are areas on the outskirts of towns and cities across France, known as Aires de covoiturage, where people from different locations can meet, park their cars and complete their journeys in one vehicle, to cut costs.
The co prefix is used in many French words to mean sharing such as colocation - house-share or apartment share - or the widely-used English language imports cohoming and coworking.
Use it like this
Faire du covoiturage - car-pool
Des réseaux sociaux en ligne aident à planifier le covoiturage et à connecter entre eux les covoitureurs – Online social networks help plan carpools and connect carpoolers
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