We all want to reduce the amount of gasoline we use and we all want to have less traffic congestion. There are various strategies to address these issues but one of the simplest and most effective is carpooling.
Carpooling transports multiple people for little more gasoline and little more greenhouse gas emissions than driving solo. Putting multiple people in cars means fewer cars are on the road.
The problem with carpooling is that most of us don’t do it. 78% of American workers drive to work by themselves. Nationwide, only 10% carpool and in some states, such as New York and Massachusetts, the number is even lower.
Carpool lanes are intended to be an incentive to carpool. Ironically, they are especially attractive because so few people seem to use them.
Why don’t we carpool? Some of us have very good reasons. We travel at odd hours. Our route is one that few others share. We have obligations that take us to other places beyond work and home. But do such considerations really eliminate 90% of us as potential carpoolers? I think probably not.
How many of us have actually tried to set up a carpool but simply did not succeed? More likely, we just don’t want to do it. It reduces our freedom. It establishes new obligations and new complications in our lives.
But carpooling’s advantages are undeniable. It uses less gas. It puts less wear and tear on your car. It helps reduce the amount of traffic on the roads. It helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It provides someone to talk to during your commute. It is all worth considering.
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Web Links
Online resources for creating and joining commuter carpools
http://www.commute.com/commuters/carpool
http://www.commuterlink.com/carpool/
Photo, taken on July 20, 2007, courtesy of Richard Masoner via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY, with partial support from the Field Day Foundation.