Car sharing seems to be the option for many parents on the school run for the new term as an attempt to fight rising motoring costs.

A new survey carried out by used car website Motors.co.uk has found that a quarter of people with children under 18 are very likely to car share with other parents during the new school term in September.

In the poll of 2,000 parents, 15% said they have had to reduce or stop their children's extracurricular activities as the cost of driving them around has become unaffordable, and more than half (54%) said they made big lifestyle changes due to the soaring costs of running a car

"The news is constantly telling us that people everywhere are tightening their belts," said Phil Jones, Commercial Director of Motors.co.uk. "However these figures show concrete evidence of the everyday sacrifices that motorists are making."

Motoring costs don't come alone either: according to a study by the Daycare Trust and Save the Children nearly a quarter of UK parents questioned say the cost of childcare has put them in debt.

The same survey of 4,359 adults found 58% had cut spending on other essentials like clothing and heating.

A more radical option consists in avoiding the car altogether. A survey by YouGov says that one in fifty families have moved their child to a school closer to home due to the cost of transport.

Sharing cars is also an environmental alternative at reducing CO2 and keeping traffic out of your community.

British Gas' Generation Green website urges parents to work with PTAs to set up car-sharing schemes and speak to teachers to see if they can give each other a lift.

They advice to be proactive with measures like putting posters or signs up in the school car park or entrance area. Another incentive could be providing priority access and parking for cars with three or more passengers.

Direct.gov.uk lists links to local councils that organise sharing schemes. It also recommends checking Carplus (a charity that promotes responsible car use) to see its list of local schemes.