Taking on the Daily Commute

Combating the Driving Demon

Over 40% of my individual Carbon Footprint comes from driving.

This month, I entered the dark and wonderful world of trying to get to and from work each day without my car.

I live in a semi-rural "village." My office is eight (8) miles away in the near-by "town," or about twenty-two (22) minutes by car. Sixteen (16) miles a day, five (5) days a week, fifty (50) weeks a year - my personal commute adds 4,000 miles driven to Climate Change.

Of course, I am not alone. The average American's commute is 32 miles each day. According to U.S. Census data, 76% of us drive ourselves, alone, in our cars, both ways, each day, to work.


Now if you live in a city, like Boston or New York or San Francisco, getting to work without your car, may be second nature, may seem obvious.  You deserve awards for your low carbon lifestyle. For those of us who live elsewhere, there are no awards, only choices and habits, perhaps time and (in)convenience.

My initial exploration of the "no car-mute" has been over a couple months now, but I take some poetic license and present it here as a single week.

Monday: Just Get on the Bus, Gus:
Although I don't live anywhere "urban," I am lucky enough to live in a village at the end of the regional bus system's R42 line. I live a quarter mile from the stop, that hourly runs a bus to "town," leaving me another 1.75 mile walk to my office.

www.pvta.com

I had not taken the bus since I was a teenager, so it took me a little work on-line to find the schedules, and even learn that there is an App, MyStop, that provides real-time location data for my bus.  Today, the ride was easy. The bus was clean, and comfortable. I got to read the paper and even get a 2 mile walk in before arriving at my office. I felt good about the experience, and proud to pay $1.50 to support public transportation, though I was surprised at how few riders there were.  The whole journey took about 55 minutes door open to door.

The afternoon's experience was less positive. By the end of the day, the weather had turned cold and rainy. The 1.75 mile walk would have been unpleasant, but I was fortunate enough to catch a ride downtown with a work colleague. Not wanting to miss my bus, I arrived at the stop few minutes before the scheduled pick up.  But the cold rain began to freeze, and traffic slowed.  The App showed my bus on its way, but 15 minutes later still no bus, and the App seemed more frozen than my fingers. I considered my options - phone a friend? call a cab? download Uber? Eventually, the bus did come, 30 minutes late. The experience took 1:15. It was miserable. 

Tuesday: Just Share with a Friend, Jen

Given that most of us drive alone to work, usually at similar hours, it is not surprising that there might be others who do exactly what I do almost every day. My neighborhood is relatively tight knit.  I emailed my neighbors and, sure enough, my across-the-street friend drives from his house right by my office, every day, usually at the time I want to go.
"Can I ride with you? I'll buy coffee."
"Of course!"

The commute was great. We chatted, got coffee, shared an experience. It took me no more time, and was no less convenient, only more fun.

Wednesday: No Luck, Chuck
Today was tough. My work schedule had me going to two off-site meetings, that I could not get my head around.  I drove myself to work, and back again, solo.

I did, however, take the opportunity to combine the trip to town with shopping that needed to get done, and might otherwise have lead to an additional trip to town. I also brought a change of work clothes to my office anticipating the following day.

Thursday: Hop on the Bike, Mike
The weather was warmer and sunny on Thursday. I rode to work. The trip there is down hill, and  because of morning car congestion, I can actually get to work in the same time as driving by the main road!  There is also a beautiful bike path for about 80% of my ride. It is a bit slower than the road, taking closer to 28 minutes, but very pleasant.

Mass Central Rail Trail - Norwottuck

Riding home, I took a longer route on rural roads, getting in a 50 minute ride and a nice work out. The bonus of riding, aside from zero Carbon Emissions, is that by the time I got home, I had already worked out for the day. I can actually gain time in my week by riding.

Paul's Commuting Options by Mode with top Pros and Cons

Friday: Telecommute
A great No Carbon commute option is just plain staying home. Compressed schedules, telecommuting, holding off-site meetings locally, all have many benefits for Carbon, congestion, air pollution, worker productivity and our own all too busy lives.

Recognizing this, in Massachusetts this year, the Governor "put forward a tax credit incentive program of up to $50 million each year to encourage employers to develop working policies to promote offsite work." 

Unfortunately, the agency I work for, an environmentally conscious agency, has yet to develop these policies. I am technically not allowed to telecommute.

Friday, I drove :(

38 Pounds Saved
My week's efforts, even with two "driving days" saved about 48 miles driven, about 2 gallons of gas, about 38 pounds of CO2. I exercised, shared time with a friend, and supported public transportation. It took some advanced planning, some effort, some time, but all told, not a bad week.

I continue the effort.

Each week since, I no-car-mute, on average, at least three (3) days a week.


The Apprentice Path:

• I suggest starting with opportunistic carpooling. How many times do you see your neighbor at the same store or event? How often do you and your friends drive empty seats to the same locale? Always offer, always accept, take the most efficient car.

• If you are already an good pooler, how about committing to a no carbon Friday? Plan to not drive on one day a week, same day, every week. Put it on your schedule. 

• When it comes time to replace your car, go electric.  

PS. By the way, here is a really interesting graphic on commuting and commuting times by state and some cities: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/average-commute-u-s-states-cities/