Rideshare to Help the Planet and Yourself

Commuting to work might not be the most enjoyable part of your day, but in today’s world it seems to be inevitable.  That means, like it or not, you are going to be spending a good portion of your day on the road.  If you are lucky, you will spend less than two and half hours of each week in the car.  That is a lot of time, and it is also equivalent to a lot of greenhouse gas.  Did you know that the average car puts off twenty pounds of carbon dioxide for every gallon of gas that you use?

If your car gets twenty miles to the gallon and you drive the average fifteen mile one-way commute, then you are putting off one hundred fifty pounds of carbon dioxide per week, or seventy-five hundred pounds per year (assuming that you take two weeks’ vacation).  Now consider that the average workplace has more than twenty employees.  That means that if each person drives each day to work, the office would give off three thousand pounds of carbon dioxide each week and one hundred fifty thousand pounds per year.  It is easy to see why automobiles account for one quarter of the carbon emissions each year.  It is also easy to see why carpooling or ridesharing is a great way to be environmentally friendly.

Cut Pollution and Greenhouse Gas Seeing the amount of carbon given off by just one office can be intimidating, but consider this.  If that office paired off, and groups of two people carpooled each day, that number would be cut down to 75,000 pounds.  If the workplace was broken up into groups of four, then those emission levels would be just 37,500 pounds per year.

Save Fuel Another excellent part of carpooling is that you will no longer have to drop so much money on gas.  To drive that commute on your own each week, you would spend twenty-two dollars per week on gas.  That is assuming prices stay at three dollars per gallon.  If you were to rideshare with three co-workers every day, you could cut your cost significantly to about five dollars and sixty cents per week.  Over one year, that amounts to nearly eight hundred fifty dollars in savings.  That is enough to pay for high speed internet and home phone for an entire year and still have a little left over.

Keep Your Car Nice While saving on gas, don’t forget that you will also cut down on wear and tear on your vehicle, which will make it more valuable when traded in.  Assuming you don’t use the car much aside from your commute, you could cut your mileage significantly as you would only drive one quarter as many miles each year when commuting.  That means fewer oil changes, lower insurance premiums, less chance of something going wrong and needing repair, and a better resale value.  You could be talking about thousands of dollars of savings over just three or four years of ownership, simply because you decided to ride with others.

Meet New People Another great part about riding with others is that you cut the stress of having to deal with traffic on your own.  You have more motivation to get up and get going on time in the morning and you have company on the ride.  Especially for those that must commute a long distance each day, it can be very pleasant to have a friend to talk with and share that time with.  If you don’t feel like talking the whole time, then consider it a chance to get caught up on reading a book or a newspaper.  You might want to flip through the file of a new client or even catch a few Z’s before the day begins.  There are many ways that you can use the time that you would otherwise have spent behind the wheel.

Reduce Stress Dealing with traffic also brings up the issue of stress.  Stress is a leading cause of illness, fatigue, and sleeping disorders.  It can wreak havoc on the mind and body in many different ways.  So, any chance to eliminate some of the stress in your life should be seriously considered.  The driver of the car is almost always the one carrying the most stress.  Dealing with poor weather conditions, other drivers’ poor decision making, or ill-timed lights are just a few of the factors that weigh on a person’s nerves while driving.  If, instead, that person were merely reading a book or carrying on lighthearted conversation, then image the effect it would have on his or her mood, blood pressure, and overall well being. While you are busy saving the world and your financial status, you will also be doing a good thing for your own health and well-being.