Spare Seat

Got a spare seat? Share it!

    About Spare Seat

    Got a spare seat? Share it.

    What is Spare Seat?

    Spare Seat is a free, community-run notice board that helps neighbours share car journeys. If you're driving through your village and have space, you can offer a seat. If you need a lift, you can request one. No fares, no platform fees — just neighbours helping neighbours.

    How it works

    For drivers

    Post a ride with your route, date, and how many seats you have spare. Passengers can request a seat and you choose who to accept. You can ask for a contribution towards fuel costs, as long as you don't profit from the journey.

    For passengers

    Browse available rides in your community and request a seat. Once the driver accepts, you'll receive their contact details to arrange the final details. It's always free to request.

    Trust & safety

    Spare Seat is designed for established communities where many residents already know one another. Every driver confirms they hold a valid licence, appropriate insurance, and will not profit from the journey. Contact details are only shared after a request is accepted — never publicly. Our full terms and privacy policy are available on your community's page.

    Find your community

    Spare Seat runs for individual civil parishes. Select yours from the map or list on the home page to sign in and get started.

    Available rides

    Offer a ride

    How long you expect to be there — helps passengers plan their trip.

    Before posting, please confirm:

    Why do these declarations matter?

    Under Association of British Insurers (ABI) guidelines, sharing the cost of a journey with passengers — without making a profit — does not invalidate a standard car insurance policy, provided no more than eight passengers are carried.

    You can also check your driving licence and your vehicle's MOT and tax status via GOV.UK.

    Blocked passengers

    Blocked drivers

    Rides from blocked drivers are hidden in your browse view.

    Terms of use

    Last updated: April 2026 (updated insurance guidance)

    1. Notice board only

    Spare Seat is a free community notice board that connects neighbours who wish to share journeys. It is not a transport provider, taxi service, private hire operator, or commercial ridesharing platform. Spare Seat does not arrange, guarantee, or take any responsibility for any journey made through this site.

    2. Eligibility

    You must be at least 18 years old to use this service. By registering, you confirm that you meet this requirement.

    Drivers must not offer seats to, or carry, anyone under the age of 18 unless they have the prior written or verbal consent of that person's parent or guardian, and already know the minor personally. Passengers must not request seats on behalf of, or for, anyone under the age of 18 without equivalent consent.

    3. User responsibilities and warranties

    By using Spare Seat, you warrant that:

    • all information you provide is accurate and not misleading;
    • you will comply with all applicable road traffic, licensing, and insurance law;
    • as a driver, you hold a valid driving licence and appropriate motor insurance for every journey you offer;
    • you will not use the platform for any unlawful, abusive, or fraudulent purpose.

    4. Insurance & the no-profit rule

    Many UK standard car insurance policies may permit drivers to share journeys and accept contributions towards fuel costs, but this varies by insurer and policy. You must check with your own insurer before offering a ride — do not assume cover exists. Common conditions that insurers may apply include:

    • The driver does not profit from the journey.
    • Any contribution does not exceed the HMRC Approved Mileage Payment allowance (currently 45p/mile for the first 10,000 miles in a tax year).
    • The vehicle is not being used as a hire or reward vehicle.

    Exceeding these limits may invalidate your motor insurance. Drivers are solely responsible for verifying their own cover. Spare Seat makes no representation that any particular policy permits car sharing.

    5. Limitation of liability

    To the fullest extent permitted by law, Spare Seat accepts no liability for any loss or damage arising from use of this platform, except where liability cannot legally be excluded (including liability for death or personal injury caused by our own negligence). In particular, Spare Seat accepts no responsibility for:

    • the conduct, driving standard, or identity of any driver or passenger;
    • the condition or roadworthiness of any vehicle;
    • journey cancellations or no-shows;
    • missed appointments or consequential losses;
    • loss of or damage to property during a journey.

    Participation is entirely at your own risk.

    6. Indemnity

    You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Spare Seat and its operators from any claims, damages, or expenses (including legal costs) arising from your use of the platform or breach of these terms.

    7. Suspension and removal

    Spare Seat may suspend or remove any user account at any time, without notice, where we reasonably believe a user has breached these terms, posed a risk to others, or used the platform unlawfully. We aim to maintain a safe and welcoming community and will act promptly on complaints.

    8. Changes to these terms

    We may update these terms at any time. Continued use of the platform after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised terms. The date at the top of this page indicates when the terms were last updated.

    9. Governing law

    These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. Any disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

    Privacy policy

    Last updated: April 2026 (updated contact visibility)

    Who we are

    Spare Seat is operated as a community service. The data controller is the site administrator, contactable at annoyingmouse+spareseat@drmsite.com.

    What data we collect

    • Account data: your name, email address, and optionally a profile photo and phone number.
    • Ride data: departure and destination locations, date and time, seat count, contact details, and any notes you add when posting a ride.
    • Request data: your name, contact details, and any message you send when requesting a seat.
    • Usage data: anonymised analytics events (page views, feature usage) via Google Analytics. No personally identifiable data is sent to Google Analytics.

    Lawful basis for processing

    We process your personal data on the basis of legitimate interests — specifically, operating a community car-sharing notice board for the benefit of local residents. Where we rely on legitimate interests, you have the right to object (see below).

    Who can see your data

    • Your name and profile photo are visible to signed-in members of your local community when you post a ride.
    • Ride details (route, date, time, seats, and notes) are visible to any signed-in member of your community. Browsing rides requires an account.
    • Your contact details are visible only to passengers whose seat request you have accepted, and to you. They are not shown to other signed-in users and are not accessible without an account.
    • A passenger's name and message are visible only to the driver of the ride they request.
    • We do not sell or share personal data with any third party, other than Firebase (Google) for hosting and storage, and SendGrid for email notifications.

    How long we keep your data

    • Ride and request records are automatically deleted 48 hours after the scheduled journey time.
    • Your account data is kept until you delete your account.
    • Archived journey summaries stored in your account are deleted when you delete your account.

    Your rights

    Under UK GDPR you have the right to:

    • Access the personal data we hold about you.
    • Rectify inaccurate data — you can update your name, photo, and phone number from the My Rides page.
    • Erasure — you can delete your account and all associated data from the My Rides page at any time.
    • Restriction of processing in certain circumstances.
    • Data portability — download a copy of your data in machine-readable JSON format directly from the My Rides page (profile section), no request needed.
    • Object to processing based on legitimate interests.

    To exercise any of these rights, contact us at annoyingmouse+spareseat@drmsite.com. We will respond within one calendar month.

    Complaints

    If you are unhappy with how we handle your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

    Welcome to Spare Seat

    Sign in to offer rides or request a seat. Browsing is always open.

    or

    My alerts

    Get an email when a ride matching your route is posted. Alerts fire for every matching ride until the window expires or you remove the alert.

    Create an alert

    Admin

    Users

    Civil parishes

    New civil parish

    Leave lat/lng/radius blank to set the boundary later via the GeoJSON editor.

    Reports

    Anonymised usage figures. No names or personal details are included. Optionally filter by ride date.

    Editing boundary

    Paste a GeoJSON polygon to set an exact boundary. Accepted: a Polygon geometry, a Feature containing one, a FeatureCollection, or a raw [[lng, lat], …] array. Overrides the radius circle when set. The dashed circle shows the current radius for reference.

    Frequent destinations