Find out more about carpooling rules 

What is carpooling?

Carpooling is not a public passenger transport service (public transport, taxi or VTC). Passengers and drivers are private individuals who do not carry out their activities in a professional context, they use a motor vehicle in common.

Carpooling is defined by Article L. 3132-1 of the Transport Code: the joint use of a land motor vehicle by a driver and one or more passengers, carried out without payment, except for the sharing of costs, in the course of a journey undertaken by the driver on his own account.

Two conditions must therefore be met:

• the journey must be part of a journey made by the driver on his own account. If the driver does not seek to move but only to transport persons, this is not carpooling;
• financial exchanges between passengers and the driver are limited to the sharing of travel costs: wear and tear on the vehicle, maintenance, fuel, tolls and possibly commission of the online carpooling platform. The driver must not make any profit.

Financial exchanges between drivers and passengers

Carpooling is allowed provided the driver makes no profit. Carpooling costs that may be shared are the costs actually incurred by a driver for the use of a vehicle during a trip. They include the following:

• vehicle depreciation (wear and tear on the vehicle);
• repair and maintenance;
• tires;
• fuel and insurance premiums;
• tolls and parking charges.

The driver must also pay his share of the fuel price and the toll incurred during the journey.

In these circumstances, cost sharing is not subject to VAT, does not constitute income to be declared and the driver is not obliged to contribute for the driving hours he performs.

The flat-rate mileage scale can be used by a driver to easily estimate the travel costs to be shared for a carpool ride. It is therefore recommended that drivers offer a price less than or equal to €0.20/km per passenger. The maximum tax scale is at €0.60/km.

Failure to comply with these conditions may result in the activity being considered an illegal practice of professional transportation. The driver then faces criminal prosecution.

Passenger rights

The carpooling service can be done from private to private. Online carpooling sites make it easy to connect drivers and passengers, offer car rides, and typically charge commissions. Passenger rights differ in these two cases:

• In the case where the car-pooling between the driver and passengers takes place without intermediary, the consumer protection rules do not apply. Indeed, drivers and passengers are private individuals, their relationship is governed by the rules of ordinary law. Consequently, in the event of a delay or cancelation of the journey, the driver is not obliged to compensate his passengers.
• In the case where the carpooling was booked through a professional (website or application) that connects the driver and passengers for remuneration (commission), then the rules on information and consumer protection apply. The passenger must then be informed by the trader, of the commission charged by the platform, the conditions of cancelation and the possible compensation.

Vehicle insurance

It is not necessary to have a specific insurance to carry out the carpooling as long as the driver does not derive any benefit from the journeys made.

The owner of the vehicle must take out at least civil liability insurance. Thus, the passengers of the carpooling are covered by the driver's civil liability insurance which guarantees the bodily and material damage of the persons transported.

However, the driver has every interest in checking whether his insurance contract does not exclude carpooling from the guarantees and covers well the home/work journeys for carpooling with colleagues and the

Accident at work Furthermore, in the case of travel between home and work, drivers and passengers are covered under the heading of a journey accident giving access to the same rights as a person traveling by train.

Online carpooling platforms

Most ridesharing platforms that connect drivers and passengers offer the following services:

• levy of a commission on sums exchanged between carpoolers;
• advice to drivers on the maximum amounts they can charge passengers;
• charter of good conduct/general conditions of use: rules of courtesy, punctuality to be respected, obligations of the driver;
• payment of the journey that can be made via the website or the application (bank card or electronic wallet);
• management of cancelation cases: at the initiative of the driver (full reimbursement), at the initiative of the passenger (depending on the moment of cancelation, partial or full payment of the trip). Carpooling platforms must apply consumer protection rules, including informing carpoolers of cancelation conditions;
• ability to comment and/or rate carpools: most platforms offer the possibility for passengers and drivers to comment and leave notes;
• the possibility for the driver to accept or not the requesting passenger.