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Carpooling, also known as “ridesharing,” is one of the easiest ways to both save money and positively impact the environment. Many people are choosing to carpool to work, school, or other activities these days. As a new driver, carpooling could be a smart choice for you. Instead of putting extra wear and tear on your vehicle by driving it every day, you can choose to ride with friends at times. You could even set up a system to share gas money and further increase your extra spending money.
How to Set Up a Carpooling Group
Finding people to carpool with can be a rather simple process. If you don’t have friends who are interested, you can try setting up a carpooling group online. There are many websites available to help match you with an appropriate carpooling group (by age, gender, smoking preference, etc.) Social media site Facebook is an especially effective tool. There’s a designated Carpool Application to help you find rides easily. Google Maps is even integrated in the application for extra convenience. If online methods don’t work for you, and you’re still interested, try putting up fliers at school with your information to attract interest.
Carpooling and the Environment
Every time you drive your car (unless it’s an all-electric vehicle), you are negatively impacting the environment with carbon dioxide emissions. When you carpool with several people, you can cut down on the amount of emissions you’re producing by a large amount. Organizations like the Clean Air Campaign even offer reward programs to carpoolers for this reason.
Financial Benefits
Of course, we’ve already talked about how sharing the costs of gas can save you money and how avoiding the need for repairs caused by every day wear and tear can save you additional cash. Carpoolers also have the opportunity to use HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes in big cities. Often, this will save you from paying toll fees and will shorten the time of your trip. You can also share any parking fees that may be required on your journey and potentially receive discounted rates on your auto insurance. To do this, simply prove to your agent that you are in a carpooling program and that you do not use your car for school or work and you could be eligible for a decreased rate.
Other Benefits
There are many other benefits for those who carpool, including:
– The opportunity to meet new people and socialize
– The opportunity to relax and enjoy your ride while others are driving- You can also use this time to catch up on some reading, do some homework, or prepare for the day.
– Decreased traffic congestion for your community/city- The more people who carpool, the easier it will be to navigate through traffic. Good traffic flow also benefits local economies, as roads take less abuse and relocating or expanding companies are attracted to roadways that are operating efficiently.