Share a Ride to Save the Earth
One person can’t make a difference to the environment. This is probably the most damaging falsehood when it comes to improving the health of the planet because it discourages people from recycling, conserving, reusing, and carpooling. How much impact can one person have on the Earth?
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average passenger car emits 77.1 pounds of hydrocarbons, 575 pounds of carbon monoxide, 38.2 pounds of oxides of nitrogen, 11,450 pounds of carbon dioxide, and uses 581 gallons of gas annually. These toxins contribute to air pollution, climate change, and decrease air quality. That is how much one person, and one light passenger car, can impact the Earth. But one person can also cut from 0.2 to 0.8 metric tons of greenhouse emissions per year by cutting driving by only 10 percent. The impact is much greater as we have almost 11 percent of the population sharing rides. That represents tons of emissions that are not released and millions of gallons of fuel that are not wasted. It is a myth that we can’t improve the environment by taking important steps like ridesharing.
The added benefits of ridesharing are, of course, monetary. It costs about $8,000 to drive a car 15,000 miles per year, and that doesn’t include parking costs – or the precious time that you waste in traffic. A 10-mile round-trip commute, for instance, costs about $51 a month if you drive alone. If you share a ride with one person, it drops to $26. If you add another passenger, it drops further to $17. A 30-mile round trip commute costs $152 to drive alone, $76 with a passenger, and $51 with two passengers. Just by adding two friends, coworkers, or community members, you can dramatically cut commuting costs.
Most people who rideshare cite saving money as one of the most important factors in their decision. It doesn’t matter whether you carpool to cut costs or to improve the planet’s health. It is like exercising to lose weight or to get healthy: you may be doing it for one reason, but you get all the benefits.
Most people who share rides do so with family members, friends, or coworkers. If your schedule is a bit different (such as if you do shift work), it is a great idea to post a memo on a bulletin board at work or at school. You can also take advantage of online services that can match those who want to share a ride. This is useful for work commuters – but we don’t drive to work exclusively! We can also rideshare on errands, trips across the country, medical appointments, shopping trips, events, clubs and organizations, and virtually anywhere you want to travel. There is no reason to go it alone when there are people who are headed to the same destination.
Share a ride to save the planet; share a ride to save money; share a ride to save your sanity on long commutes and to cut congestion. No matter why you rideshare, it does have a significant impact.