How to green your commute

27 May 2008

With a greener commute, you might even look forward to Mondays.

Greening your life in lots of areas is a relatively simple affair, involving you, your conscience, and your wallet. Greening your commute is a tad bit more complicated, involving you, your conscience, and your job -- that annoyingly mandatory life entity that puts scratch in the aforementioned wallet.

Complicating matters further, the eco-level of your commute depends to a great extent on where you live. It's one thing to rideshare in New York or Chicago. In Shelby, Mont., it's quite another -- unless, that is, you don't mind hitching lifts on tractors and 18-wheelers.

This doesn't mean you should kick the idea of green commuting to the curb. Americans drive 734 billion miles to and from work each year -- and spend an average of 47 hours stuck in rush-hour traffic. Ugh. No matter where you live or work, it's possible to tweak your ride, your mode of transport, and, when the boss is flexible, even your locale. You may not be able to ditch your job, but you can change how you get there.

Here's how to start.

From A to Green continues below

ADVERTISING POLICY

Level One: The Baby Step

Get pumped.

Whistle a happy tune. If you absolutely, positively can't avoid driving your car to work (or for work), at least make sure you keep the ol' jalopy tuned up. You can save gas money and reduce your car's emissions by changing your oil regularly; keeping tires inflated to the recommended level; and checking hoses, filters, and spark plugs on a regular basis. According to the Oregon Environmental Council, a car that's out-o-tune uses nearly 10 percent more gas than one that's properly maintained.

Level Two: The Next Steps

Go public. If there's a way to get to work that doesn't involve your mean, ungreen driving machine, use it. According to the American Public Transportation Association, increasing numbers of Americans are seeing the merits of taking the bus or train; public transit ridership is up 32 percent since 1995, and ridership in 2007 was the highest in 50 years. At the same time, the Energy Department predicts that Americans will buy less gas this year than last year, the first yearly decline since 1991. Think riding the bus sounds like a headache? Just pop on the iPod and grab a good book -- you'll be amazed at how it feels to get your life back.

Dare to share.

Share your dealings. Sure, it may seem like fodder for a bad sitcom, but carpooling is a solid option, and one that nearly 11 percent of U.S. commuters choose, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Given rising gas prices and random incentives, that number may be on the rise. Carpooling's hip younger sibling, carsharing, is also catching on across the country. Members can save money on gas, insurance, and maintenance -- while still getting the bliss of controlling the radio dial.

Stay home -- with permission. We're not advocating playing hooky (well, not every day), but if you can work out a deal to work from home one or more days a week, you'll be doing the planet a favor. According to surveys, about 4 million Americans telecommute regularly, while 45 million do so at least once a week. That equates to a lot of unemitted emissions. Think you can't convince your boss to let you work from home? Here are a few tips for making the case.

Level Three: The Big Step

Build the life you want.

Get moving. Next time you look for a job or look for a house, consider their distance from each other. (And poke around -- some cities have incentive programs for living close to work.) As recently as 1960, nearly 10 percent of Americans walked to their jobs; today, that number is around 2.5 percent, with certain geographical exceptions (go Boston!). Even if you can't live close enough to your workplace to walk there, a shorter drive or ride will save you time and money. Then you can use all your spare time to fine-tune that invention -- you know, the one that's going to make you a skillionaire who never needs to work again.

Resources

Tips for smarter driving
Simple Tips to Green Your Commute
U.S. Department of Energy Tips to Improve Your Gas Mileage
Environmental Defense Fund

Public Transportation, Carpooling, and Carsharing
American Public Transportation Association
Directory of U.S. Rideshare and Carpool Resources
eRideShare
Guide to Car Sharing Programs in North America

Telecommuting
The Telework Coalition
Clean Air Council's Green Commute Program

Grist claims no responsibility for the safety and effectiveness of these tips -- especially if you dive headfirst into your compost pile. If you've got tips of your own, or questions about a topic we haven't covered, send .

Comments: (20 comments)

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Other options?

I keep rereading this column to see if I can find the part about bicycling to work. Nope, can't seem to find it.

Is it on a second page that I am not seeing? Reserved for its very own report later in the week (it is Bike to Work month, after all)? Seriously, folks! Somewhere in between "carpooling" and "buying a house closer to your job", you might suggest using a bicycle to provide your own transportation to and from work: an easily accessible option for millions of Americans, most of whom already own the transportation device in question.

I feel a little silly even typing that. Was there some kind of computer glitch that caused the "Bicycling to Work" paragraph to fall out? Maybe my excessive computer work is causing a weird blind spot, and I can't see the extensive sidebar devoted to the new city bikes from all the major bicycling manufacturers; the Xtracycle, a handy extension kit that can turn any standard bike into a cargo-carrying supercommuter; and Lance Armstrong's new bike store, in Austin, Texas, devoted to commuter and transportational cycling. I must just somehow not be seeing that, right? Tell me I'm hallucinating, and that Grist didn't just publish a guide to greening your commute without even mentioning that you could bike to work.

best

Patrick

by patrickb at 10:41 AM on 27 May 2008

agree

Overall, the best transit solution.

Another tip for a car-free commute:
Talk to your local city council/ward representative and tell them to prioritize bike lane upkeep and expansion. I am tired of potholes in the bike lane and having trash haulers zoom by 2 inches from me.

www.campusprogress.org

by tboggia at 10:50 AM on 27 May 2008

More Agreed...

Yes, no mention of cycling as an option - or tips on how to advocate for better infrastructure to support alternate modes - is disappointing.

beelnite

by beelnite at 11:03 AM on 27 May 2008

... and yet more Agreed

I just returned from a visit to Paris, France. As has already been well-documented on this and other sites, their 'Velib' program of reasonably-priced, well-maintained, and abundant public-rental bikes with dozens upon dozens of pick-up and dropoff sites all over the city has resulted -- and here I can cite my own observations -- in an amazing amount of bicycle use for a major metropolis filled with well-heeled professionals.

If Paris can do it, any big city in the U.S. should be able to do it. Paris streets are narrow, and the drivers live up to their manic and seemingly reckless driving reputations. Yet the 1500-year-old city has managed to gradually retrofit itself for bike lanes and, more importantly, has raised driver awareness of bicycles to the point where regular people are now emboldened to pick up a Velib and go. Security in numbers. Taking back the streets.

This is not exactly the same as promoting bike commuting, I know, but my point is: we have barely begun to scratch the surface of tapping into the human potential to actually use bikes for practical urban purposes, rather than for weekend loops around the neoghborhood park for the sole purpose of trying to shed some of those pounds that were gained while sitting in traffic consuming a sugary latte grande.

by GonzoDon at 11:27 AM on 27 May 2008

Another Agreed

I had to read this article three times and do a page search to verify that you didn't include biking. What the hell?

by purejoyofmovement at 11:31 AM on 27 May 2008

It's because we hate bikes

No, I'm kidding. As you can tell from several recent Umbra columns on the topic, we love bikes. And we do, in fact, have a separate "how to commute by bike" column scheduled for later in the summer. Sorry to freak you out with the apparent oversight here.

by Katharine Wroth at 12:31 PM on 27 May 2008

bikes rock

As someone who commuted by bike today (as usual) I can further add to the above, that --

I DO enjoy my commute. I get to have some exercise and see my local world from a vantage point that I can appreciate the nature of the day and passage of the seasons. I feel more connected to my environment as opposed to the inhabitant of a sterile box on wheels. The exhiliration of movement under one's own power cannot be underestimated. Sometimes there's a little drama: will I make it home before the rainstorm arrives? Will I make it through that one stoplight that I really detest because my bike won't trigger it to change?

I made this shift 3 years ago and it's been great. Before that, it was always in the back of my mind, when the stars would align, to make it possible. My office moved to a place that is not on a major truck route, so voila-- here I am, proud owner of several more bikes and many more car-free days.

Springtime is ideal for beginning a bike commuting habit. Cool mornings make it easy to arrive at work without breaking too much of a sweat. Why wait til summer to feature this? The League of American Bicyclists is on target by sponsoring the Bike to Work Day/Week/Month stuff right now in May.

Today I saw 6 other cyclists as I rode to work. That's a new record for me! It must be the gas prices. I say, bring it on!!

Moving toward sustainability with hopefulness, one revolution at a time.

by 2wheeler at 1:26 PM on 27 May 2008

COMMUTE

Wonderful ideas.
Do them all, every minit of every day.
But
GIVE IT UP
Commuting is Death!

by billgee at 2:47 PM on 27 May 2008

Katharine, of course we know

that Grist likes bikes. But don't you think it's odd that it's not even mentioned in this article about greening your commute? There isn't even so much as a "Coming soon: Our Bike Commuting Special!" blurb. As is, it's an obvious and glaring omission.

by purejoyofmovement at 3:25 PM on 27 May 2008

BIKE COMMUTE

Amen - and another voice for bike commuting.

by sairen42 at 6:58 AM on 28 May 2008

Blind

You're all totally blind!! I saw the paragraph on bicycling to work!

Of course, that might have been the lack of early morning tea making me hallucinate...

Umbra has some good bike articles though :D

by redambrosia99 at 8:47 AM on 28 May 2008

How will bike riders contribute?

I think bike lanes are wonderful. What is the best way to collect money from bike riders for their construction and maintenance? Portland, OR currently steals money from gasoline taxes paid entirely by motorists. F- that.

Stay positive, love your life.

by KevinMichael at 11:01 AM on 28 May 2008

Bikes do pay for roads

KevinMichael,
Those of us who refuse to occupy two-ton fossil-fool powered wheelchairs actually pay far more per mile of use than you do. While the gas tax is almost entirely dedicated to road-building and maintenance, it does not cover all of the costs. Every state that I have ever lived in pays for road construction/maintainance with property and/or income taxes. Considering our relatively lower miles ridden, we are paying at levels that put the shame on you polluters. Also, considering our almost complete lack of wear and tear on the asphalt compared to four-wheelers, if you want fewer potholes you should want more people to leave their steel wheelchairs parked.

by human power at 5:34 PM on 28 May 2008

eco driving

Another item for Level One could be eco driving. In studies it has proven to reduce gas and maintenance use as well as be generally safer. Some freight companies now require this as part of driver training, and since they profit by driving it probably says something. There are also several countries working to promote it to the general population. It's all mostly common sense, but it may require retraining some habits.

For more info search on eco driving. Or
http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/what_can_i_do_today/e ...

https://www.drivingskillsforlife.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=3

by genevieve at 5:46 PM on 28 May 2008

Mass Transit Costly

I read an article the other day in the Seattle Times.

It said that the fares on the buses here cover only 6 percent of operating costs.

Really?

The fare is $1.50, so if that's 6% then the "real" cost of ridership is $25.

Then I look at the cost of cabs. It costs about $40 to from here, Kent, to Seattle. Add in a tip and it's $50.

So if three people commuting from Kent to Seattle took a cab, it would actually ( 3 x 25 - $50 ) save $25 dollars!

(And remember, cab prices are artificially raised because of restrictive licensing).

by jabailo at 9:44 AM on 29 May 2008

Americans = Whiners

I made the mistake of reading Friday's USA Today at my library today.

Big article about all the pain and suffering high gas prices are causing monster-SUV drivers because -- I regret to say that I'm not making this up -- many pumps impose a single credit card purchase limit of $75, and with high gas prices this means one cannot necessarily fill the tank of said gas-guzzling SUV with a single card swipe.

Instead -- again, I regret to say I'm not making this up -- USA Today notes that this results in the inconvenience of the drivers having to walk INTO the convenience store to process their card for a purchase over $75.

Sigh. I could give a good goddamn if the drivers of gas-guzzling SUVs have to get off of their fat lazy asses and walk an extra 50 feet to fill up their goddamned tanks.

USA Today provides the obligatory quote of some "outraged" driver regarding how difficult this has made his whole life. (Goddamn it, somebody is gonna have to pay for his inconvenience! He's mad as hell and he's not gonna take any more!)

Yeah. Well f*** you too, you lazy turd.

by GonzoDon at 7:33 PM on 31 May 2008

Abandon the Suburbs

The third step, moving closer to where you work is perhaps the most important. Suburban commuters clog the roads, suburbs use up land that was once farmland, open space, and wilderness, and moving out of the cities is a blight that takes money (in the form of taxes and revenues) out of the cities -- money that could improve urban life for everyone. If you live in the city it is easier to use public transportation, walk, or yes even bike to work and other places you need to go.

by Cacaoatl at 6:32 PM on 05 Jun 2008

www.FuelEconomy.gov

I can't >believe< this website isn't mentioned! It's how I selected my current vehicle - and buying even a used hybrid was out of the question. I bought a zippy little early 90s Honda Civic and I'm set to weather the ups/downs of oil prices without committing myself foolishly to a (bio)diesel... which I had considered.

And yeah, commute cycling! The best thing to happen to the American obesity epidemic is rising food and fuel costs.

by DannyGirl at 11:11 PM on 30 Jun 2008

love this line!

"Two-ton fossil-fool powered wheelchairs" LOLOL!

by DannyGirl at 11:15 PM on 30 Jun 2008
[ Parent ]

In Shelby, MT! How about in Helena, the capitol!

We have a transit service that only serves downtown Helena, which in my opinion could walk or bike much easier than me, who lives 20 miles away from Helena where I work.

My husband and I carpool in our little Metro and we do OK, but Helena and Montana in general seems to be 15-20 years behind everyone else in the country. Just take a look at the hairstyles and you'll see!

We really suck in Helena as far as commitment to the environment, a lot of state employees work here and they seem to be the least concerned about global warming, etc. Hell, they bitch about the idea of not having plastic bags to use to hold groceries. Pretty lame, it's kind of like being a small fish in the vast, polluted ocean.

"For as long as space endures, and for as long as living beings remain, until then may I too abide, to dispel the misery of the world." - Shantideva

by mtvyfan at 7:22 AM on 07 Aug 2008

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