From CarSharing to Carpooling: Make your drive more efficient
London Carpools
Whether you're travelling to school or work on a daily basis, commuting can be expensive. Maybe you're already taking the bus or riding your bike, but, for those of you driving every day, there is a solution in London that you may be unaware of: an online carpooling service that helps you find a ride or a new passenger for your commute.
According to Allison Miller, transportation demand management coordinator for the City of London, Londoners make an average of 620,000 trips on a typical weekday, and only 13 per cent are carpooled.
“For those who are driving regularly, we know we can move more efficiently,” she said.
Miller is involved with an environmental program called London Carpools. It's a free, web-based service that allows all Londoners, including students, to find fellow carpoolers.
You can sign up and register as a driver, passenger, or both. “You type in where you're starting and where you're going and the times of day you are travelling, (as well as) some of your preferences in terms of: Do you smoke? Do you like to stop at Tim Hortons? Do you listen to jazz music? All those sorts of things,” Miller explained.
Fanshawe College has its own separate tab on the website, along with other large employers in London such as Western University, London Health Sciences Centre and General Dynamics.
“If you're driving to and from school every day, you can save a lot of money,” said Miller. “It's a great way to meet new people, and then it's less stressful and for the College; generally you're reducing parking lot demand.”
There's also the environmental benefit. “Even carpooling with one other person ... that immediately halves the greenhouse gas emissions you're producing. We're not saying, ‘Give up your car,' but we're saying, ‘Use it more efficiently.'”
If you're worried about giving out your information online or taking a ride with a stranger, Miller had some advice: “Don't just hop in a car with a stranger, be smart about it. Maybe you can have a conversation over email or the phone first, maybe you can meet over a coffee and discuss how this could work. Then, if you're comfortable, you can carpool with that person.”
On the site, if you're matched with a potential driver or passenger, both parties must agree before any email address or phone number is released.
Miller pointed out that the more people who are registered, the more successful the program will be. “Even if you're already carpooling, it's worth registering because you never know who you may be able to share those costs with.”
If you're interested in becoming a driver or finding a new ride, visit londoncarpools.ca.
Rideshare (Kijiji)
If you're looking for a ride to another Ontario city such as Toronto, Hamilton, Windsor or Ottawa, check out Kijiji's Rideshare section (under the Community tab). Many people use the site to post a “Wanted” ad when they're looking to find a particular ride, while others use it to let potential passengers know where they're headed and put a price on what it would cost for someone to hitch a ride.
Community CarShare
Another idea? Car sharing.
The Thames Regional Ecological Association (TREA) held their annual general meeting on March 14 and this year discussed the idea of bringing Community CarShare to London.
Jason Hammond, president of Community CarShare, was happy to speak at this year's meeting. “Car sharing is still a new idea for a lot of people, so it's important to get across the basic information about how it all works and why it's important,” he said.
According to their website, “Community CarShare operates a fleet of 28 vehicles, available to members on a self-serve, pay-peruse basis.”
You sign up to become a member, paying a yearly fee that depends on your plan, and then can reserve a vehicle on an hourly basis. You must reserve a vehicle for a minimum of 30 minutes, but you can have it for as long as you'd like.
Community CarShare was founded in 1998 in Kitchener-Waterloo, expanded to Hamilton in 2009 and just recently added Elmira to their service areas.
Hammond said he feels the program would be a good fit for the London community. “London has a lot in common with Waterloo region and Hamilton in terms of being a population of about half a million people, strong university presence, revitalizing downtown, some interesting ideas around transit improvement, so there's a lot of similarities.”
Many individuals use car sharing instead of purchasing a second vehicle. “Really, it's about reducing your car ownership without reducing your ability to drive,” said Hammond. “It's taking all of the fixed costs of car ownership and spreading them across an average of 30 people per car, which means when you're paying your trip through CarShare, you're basically just paying to operate the vehicle — not to own it.”
In addition to the financial benefits, there's also the eco-friendly aspect.
“Half of the people who join CarShare either postpone purchasing a car or sell one they already have, so for every car we're putting on the road, we're taking up to 15 cars off the road.” He added that CarShare members drive half as much as they did before they were a member, ultimately reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
CarShare now has over 800 members, and is hoping to launch in London later this year.
“For us to expand into London, normally the municipalities do get involved ... The municipality often takes a lead, and that's because we meet a lot of their goals around reducing the amount of single-occupant car travel, reducing parking demand, reducing emissions,” said Hammond.
If you want to get involved with CarShare, you can become a corporate partner, help to provide parking in the city, or become a member. To sign up, you must be 21 years old and hold a G class driver's licence from Ontario. Visit communitycarshare.ca or email jason@communitycarshare.ca for more information.
CARPOOL SAFETY TIPS:
- Meet with the person in a public place before deciding to get into the car with them
- Bring your cell phone on the trip
- Write down the driver's licence plate number
Whether you're travelling to school or work on a daily basis, commuting can be expensive. Maybe you're already taking the bus or riding your bike, but, for those of you driving every day, there is a solution in London that you may be unaware of: an online carpooling service that helps you find a ride or a new passenger for your commute.
According to Allison Miller, transportation demand management coordinator for the City of London, Londoners make an average of 620,000 trips on a typical weekday, and only 13 per cent are carpooled.
“For those who are driving regularly, we know we can move more efficiently,” she said.
Miller is involved with an environmental program called London Carpools. It's a free, web-based service that allows all Londoners, including students, to find fellow carpoolers.
You can sign up and register as a driver, passenger, or both. “You type in where you're starting and where you're going and the times of day you are travelling, (as well as) some of your preferences in terms of: Do you smoke? Do you like to stop at Tim Hortons? Do you listen to jazz music? All those sorts of things,” Miller explained.
Fanshawe College has its own separate tab on the website, along with other large employers in London such as Western University, London Health Sciences Centre and General Dynamics.
“If you're driving to and from school every day, you can save a lot of money,” said Miller. “It's a great way to meet new people, and then it's less stressful and for the College; generally you're reducing parking lot demand.”
There's also the environmental benefit. “Even carpooling with one other person ... that immediately halves the greenhouse gas emissions you're producing. We're not saying, ‘Give up your car,' but we're saying, ‘Use it more efficiently.'”
If you're worried about giving out your information online or taking a ride with a stranger, Miller had some advice: “Don't just hop in a car with a stranger, be smart about it. Maybe you can have a conversation over email or the phone first, maybe you can meet over a coffee and discuss how this could work. Then, if you're comfortable, you can carpool with that person.”
On the site, if you're matched with a potential driver or passenger, both parties must agree before any email address or phone number is released.
Miller pointed out that the more people who are registered, the more successful the program will be. “Even if you're already carpooling, it's worth registering because you never know who you may be able to share those costs with.”
If you're interested in becoming a driver or finding a new ride, visit londoncarpools.ca.
Rideshare (Kijiji)
If you're looking for a ride to another Ontario city such as Toronto, Hamilton, Windsor or Ottawa, check out Kijiji's Rideshare section (under the Community tab). Many people use the site to post a “Wanted” ad when they're looking to find a particular ride, while others use it to let potential passengers know where they're headed and put a price on what it would cost for someone to hitch a ride.
Community CarShare
Another idea? Car sharing.
The Thames Regional Ecological Association (TREA) held their annual general meeting on March 14 and this year discussed the idea of bringing Community CarShare to London.
Jason Hammond, president of Community CarShare, was happy to speak at this year's meeting. “Car sharing is still a new idea for a lot of people, so it's important to get across the basic information about how it all works and why it's important,” he said.
According to their website, “Community CarShare operates a fleet of 28 vehicles, available to members on a self-serve, pay-peruse basis.”
You sign up to become a member, paying a yearly fee that depends on your plan, and then can reserve a vehicle on an hourly basis. You must reserve a vehicle for a minimum of 30 minutes, but you can have it for as long as you'd like.
Community CarShare was founded in 1998 in Kitchener-Waterloo, expanded to Hamilton in 2009 and just recently added Elmira to their service areas.
Hammond said he feels the program would be a good fit for the London community. “London has a lot in common with Waterloo region and Hamilton in terms of being a population of about half a million people, strong university presence, revitalizing downtown, some interesting ideas around transit improvement, so there's a lot of similarities.”
Many individuals use car sharing instead of purchasing a second vehicle. “Really, it's about reducing your car ownership without reducing your ability to drive,” said Hammond. “It's taking all of the fixed costs of car ownership and spreading them across an average of 30 people per car, which means when you're paying your trip through CarShare, you're basically just paying to operate the vehicle — not to own it.”
In addition to the financial benefits, there's also the eco-friendly aspect.
“Half of the people who join CarShare either postpone purchasing a car or sell one they already have, so for every car we're putting on the road, we're taking up to 15 cars off the road.” He added that CarShare members drive half as much as they did before they were a member, ultimately reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
CarShare now has over 800 members, and is hoping to launch in London later this year.
“For us to expand into London, normally the municipalities do get involved ... The municipality often takes a lead, and that's because we meet a lot of their goals around reducing the amount of single-occupant car travel, reducing parking demand, reducing emissions,” said Hammond.
If you want to get involved with CarShare, you can become a corporate partner, help to provide parking in the city, or become a member. To sign up, you must be 21 years old and hold a G class driver's licence from Ontario. Visit communitycarshare.ca or email jason@communitycarshare.ca for more information.
CARPOOL SAFETY TIPS:
- Meet with the person in a public place before deciding to get into the car with them
- Bring your cell phone on the trip
- Write down the driver's licence plate number
