CARPOOL TO WORK

 

In one year, traffic congestion alone wasted 3 billion gallons of gasoline‑‑about 5% of the amount U.S. cars use annually ‑

 

BACKGROUND

The growing number of cars on the road pose an enormous threat to the environment. Yet there are few alternatives to driving; in most areas of the U.S., mass transit is woefully inadequate.

 

So if you're interested in cutting back your driving, you may have to take matters into your own hands. Thus far, the best solution is carpooling.

 

Carpooling is especially practical if you commute to an urban area. But you can share a ride to work no matter where you live. Even carpooling 8 miles from, say, rural East Calais to Montpelier, Vermont, will save about 4,000 auto miles per person every year.

 

DID YOU KNOW

* One‑third of all private auto mileage is racked up commuting to

and from work.

 

• The average commuter car carries only 1.3 riders.

 

• If each commuter car carried just one more person, we'd save more than 600,000 gallons of gas a day and prevent more than 12 million pounds of carbon dioxide from polluting the atmosphere. e The federal government has cut funding for mass transit by 32%‑which makes carpooling even more important.

 

SIMPLE THINGS TO DO

* Find out how to connect with other commuters. There's no na­tional clearinghouse for carpool information, but many local gov­ernments are pushing carpools and can help direct you to the right sources.

 

* In some places, informal but systematic carpooling arrangements have sprung up near bus or train stops. People line up and commut­ers stop to fill up their cars, taking advantage of special full­ passenger lanes on toll bridges and freeways.

 

Advertise carpooling on community bulletin boards (radio and TV stations have them as public services), or in weekly "shoppers."