SWINDON firms are taking the stress out of the morning commute by helping staff find lifts into work with colleagues.

Car share schemes are being organised to save time, money and the environment.

Some companies are even stopping lone drivers parking close to the entrance and reserving the spaces for vehicles carrying more people.

Workers at the Nationwide Building Society head office on Pipers Way are taking full advantage of their company's scheme.

Company spokesman Kevin Chapple said: "People who don't share sometimes find it difficult to find a space in the car park at all.

"The reserved spaces are closer to the building than the rest of the car park. This means that even people who arrive later can still get a place and not have to walk a long way from their cars.

"We have lots of members of staff who come from outlying areas so it's useful for them to share because it cuts down costs."

Honda's plant at South Marston employs 5,000 people, half of whom are on site at any one time. The company set up a computerised car share database two weeks ago, and already 100 people have signed up.

"Employees register their postcode and route on the database, and we can then match them to lifts from that information," said corporate communications manager Julie Cameron.

"Because we have about 2,250 staff on site at any one time, lots of people were already sharing lifts. Our new database is really just there to aid the process.

"If people can get from home to work without having to worry about transport, there will certainly be less stress around the place."

Some employers are not organising a share scheme, but say that staff already make their own arrangements. "We have between 150 and 200 people working here at any one time, and most of them live locally," said Swindon Asda-WalMart deputy manager Adrian O'Kane.

"It's surprising how few people drive to work most walk or take public transport.

"Staff tend to come in cars at night because of the safety aspect. A group of female staff will often share a car so that they feel safer, for example."

And while web-based systems for matching employees to lifts are difficult to operate, some employers are encouraging the use of internal computer noticeboards.

"Although we don't have a car sharing scheme, staff are able to use our company intranet to leave messages asking for lifts," said Ron Sayadian, of Cellular Operations in Peatmoor.

"We do encourage car sharing. It means there's less traffic on the roads, it's more sociable, and it's certainly better for the environment."