Car Pooling Benefits the Environment and Saves you money!

Riding around town on my bike, and also driving on the highways between cities, I’m constantly baffled at the number of vehicles I see with just one occupant in them.  Considering the cost of fuel, and the economic situation right now, you’d think people would be very interested in finding any way possible to cut costs.  Carpooling is one way to drastically cut your daily expenses, particularly if you are commuting 50 KM or more each day to get to and from work.  There is usually the ability to comfortably fit four people into a car.  With a van, that number rises even higher!

Thus, we have this weeks weekly eco idea:

Cutting Expenses by Car Pooling

So then, doing the math would tell you that if you fit four people into your car for the commute, you’d probably cut your gas expenses for that drive time by about 75%.  Its not all that hard to figure out how much it is costing you each week to drive to and from work, and splitting that cost between a few other people will mean huge savings over the year.  It just might even be enough to get yourself a GPS unit to mount on your dashboard, which could help even further when traffic gets tight and you want a quicker way either to the office or home from work.

Put the Squeeze on Rush Hour Traffic

Another point I’ll make is that when you fill up one car with four people, rather than four cars with one person in each, you’ve effectively eliminated 3 other cars from the road.  Multiply that factor, and you can begin to see how much nasty emissions are cut in the process, as well as how many less cars are going to be on the road creating traffic jams in rush hour.  Don’t forget, you’d also probably be in for some great conversation with a few folks for company travelling with you.  Even meetings can take place, saving time throughout the day for other things.

Governments Promote Car Pooling

Car Pooling Lane Sign

Many municipalites have created car pool lots on the sides of main highways and expressways.  These allow people to make a short drive from their homes to a general meeting place to finish up the bulk of the trip car pooling with co-workers.  There actually was also a time, during world war two when the US government led a campaign encouraging car pooling.  The propagand read something along the lines of “When you ride alone, you ride with Hitler!”.  Other actions that governments have put in place include car pool lanes on freeways.  These lanes are reserved for vehicles carrying 2 or more people, and if you are caught driving in these landes alone, the fines are pretty steep!

Anyway you look at it, car pooling is a great way to save mone, reduce emmissions and soclialize!