Tips for Reducing Our Transportation Footprint!
The U.S. transportation sector is responsible for about a third of our country’s climate-damaging emissions.**
Consider the following tips to help reduce fuel consumption. There are a wide range of oportunities, and every bit helps, consider a couple changes to achieve an immediate 10% reduction of fuel!
- Lifestyle Considerations
- Walk, Bike, Public Transit
- Plan Ahead
- Car Choice
- Carpool, Rideshare, Carshare Options
- Driving Habits
- Aerodynamics & Exess Weight Matter
- Gas Tips
- Gas Powered Equipment
- Airline Travel & Flying Tips
- Indirect Transportation
Consider the following tips to help reduce fuel consumption. There are a wide range of oportunities, and every bit helps, consider a couple changes to achieve an immediate 10% reduction of fuel!
- Lifestyle Considerations
- Walk, Bike, Public Transit
- Plan Ahead
- Car Choice
- Carpool, Rideshare, Carshare Options
- Driving Habits
- Aerodynamics & Exess Weight Matter
- Gas Tips
- Gas Powered Equipment
- Airline Travel & Flying Tips
- Indirect Transportation
Lifestyle Considerations:
Asses your lifestyle (living/working/education etc.) with reduction of transportation in mind
Consider tele-commuting, working from home, or living close to work, living on campus or close to school or day care
Consider distance from places you will frequent when chosing a place to live (family, groceries, health care, school, exercise/recreation, child care etc.)
Are there active modes of transit you might enjoy? What is within your ability or tolerance?
Getting there can be part of the fun with bikes, scooters, skateboards, roller blades, canoe, kayak, sailboat… active transit is good for health and the earth!
There may be times when a powered transit mode works better, or some combination of tranport modes works best.
Ebikes, electric scooters, vespas, can be recharged from renewable energy sources.
Plan Ahead:
Combine errands or trips,
Plan the best route,
Avoid rush hour traffic,
Use Waze or similar apps to avoid heavy traffic & traffic jams https://www.waze.com/live-map/
Avoid unnecessary trips by confirming hours, or product/service availability.
Walk, Bike, & Use Public Transit:
A variety of transit modes can have benefits over car use. For example, biking may be faster on congested streets, taking the T or bus may be more social or more relaxing, walking may be more enjoyable and offer health benefits.
Bike paths & lanes have increased dramatically! https://trailmap.mapc.org/
Blue Bikes where/when you need them! $10/mo. https://www.bluebikes.com/
MBTA https://www.mbta.com/schedules subway, bus, ferries, commuter line, the ride
When you need to use a car:
Choose electric vehicles & recharge with renewable energy sources when possible.
Choose a hybrid or fuel efficient vehicle with high MPG when EV is not available.
Carpool or Rideshare with preference for electric or the most efficient vehicle.
Carpool, Rideshare & Car Share Services:
Some Carpool and Rideshare options:
https://www.cambridgema.gov/cdd/transportation/gettingaroundcambridge/bycar/carpool/ridesharing
www.Carpoolworld.com
https://bestreferraldriver.com/rideshare-companies.html
Facebook Rideshares
Car Share Options:
Zipcar.com , getaround.com , good to go, turo,
https://www.flexcar.com/inventory
Tools for businesses to promote ride sharing and reduce transportation footprint
https://www.mass.gov/guides/massdep-rideshare-program
Driving Habits:
Use moderate speed (under 50 mph.)
Use cruise control on flat highways, keep plenty of space between you and the car in front of you so you can maintain a constant speed and go easy on the breaks and accelerator. Take advantage of coasting downhill or to a stop.
A 20-30 second warm up is sufficient for most modern cars.
Don’t idle more than 10 seconds:
In car lines for take out food or coffee, bank, pharmacy or
When waiting for trains, drawbridge, or to pickup kids etc.
Limit AC Usage: At slow speed open windows, use AC conservatively at higher speeds keeping windows closed to limit drag. Park in shade if easily available, and air out the car before turning on the AC.
Track your mileage
Avoid rough roads
Aerodynamics & Excess Weight:
Rooftop storage boxes, bikes and other recreational items secured to the vehicle, will produce drag and can dramatically decrease mileage especially at higher speeds. Even open windows, open sunroofs or roof racks can affect mileage at higher speeds.
Carying excess weight in the car decreases milage as well. Empty unnecessary items from the car. A tidy car is also safer as items won't become dangerous projectiles in the event of an accident.
Seats that are never used may also be removed.
Maintenance & Gas Tips:
Check the following among maintenance items to maintain good MPG: Tune up, change spark plugs, inflate tires,
Oil change & filter (use the proper grade of energy conserving oil.)
Gas is generally cheaper on Tues, Wed., and off the highway. Use gas buddy or a similar app to compare, but don’t go out of your way. When filling the gas tank turn the nozzle upside down before removing it, do not overfill the tank, and when closing the gas lid make sure it clicks 3 times for proper seal to avoid evaporation of gas. Park in the shade when easily available.
Driving manual can also conserve gas (but don’t rest your foot on the clutch.)
Gasoline Powered Equipment
Reduce or eliminate the use of gasoline powered equipment - emissions from these are not generally regulated and can be far worse than cars!
Lawn mowers, leaf blowers, chain saws, and generators have manual, and electric alternatives which are far less polluting.
Use solar powered electric generators (LIFePo4 Batteries) to power tools away from electrical outlets.
Airline Travel Info.:
Airlines have an outsized impact on the environment.
There are ways to reduce this impact; but avoiding unnecessary flights is advised.
Consider alternatives (train, bus, EV, etc.) and compare with flight impacts
Reduce or eliminate the number of flights taken
Zoom meetings for business
Advocate for reduction of private flights.
Let airlines and policy makers know of your environmental concerns, some progress is being made with solar, electric and battery advances.
Utilize flights with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) if available
When Flying:
Source https://terrapass.com/blog/how-to-reduce-your-carbon-footprint-when-you-travel
Carbon Offsets https://carbonfund.org/how-to-offset-the-carbon-footprint-of-flying/
Indirect Transportation Costs:
Consider the Fuel and environmental costs of indirect transportation as well. Here are several examples.
Asses your lifestyle (living/working/education etc.) with reduction of transportation in mind
Consider tele-commuting, working from home, or living close to work, living on campus or close to school or day care
Consider distance from places you will frequent when chosing a place to live (family, groceries, health care, school, exercise/recreation, child care etc.)
Are there active modes of transit you might enjoy? What is within your ability or tolerance?
Getting there can be part of the fun with bikes, scooters, skateboards, roller blades, canoe, kayak, sailboat… active transit is good for health and the earth!
There may be times when a powered transit mode works better, or some combination of tranport modes works best.
Ebikes, electric scooters, vespas, can be recharged from renewable energy sources.
Plan Ahead:
Combine errands or trips,
Plan the best route,
Avoid rush hour traffic,
Use Waze or similar apps to avoid heavy traffic & traffic jams https://www.waze.com/live-map/
Avoid unnecessary trips by confirming hours, or product/service availability.
Walk, Bike, & Use Public Transit:
A variety of transit modes can have benefits over car use. For example, biking may be faster on congested streets, taking the T or bus may be more social or more relaxing, walking may be more enjoyable and offer health benefits.
Bike paths & lanes have increased dramatically! https://trailmap.mapc.org/
Blue Bikes where/when you need them! $10/mo. https://www.bluebikes.com/
MBTA https://www.mbta.com/schedules subway, bus, ferries, commuter line, the ride
When you need to use a car:
Choose electric vehicles & recharge with renewable energy sources when possible.
Choose a hybrid or fuel efficient vehicle with high MPG when EV is not available.
Carpool or Rideshare with preference for electric or the most efficient vehicle.
Carpool, Rideshare & Car Share Services:
Some Carpool and Rideshare options:
https://www.cambridgema.gov/cdd/transportation/gettingaroundcambridge/bycar/carpool/ridesharing
www.Carpoolworld.com
https://bestreferraldriver.com/rideshare-companies.html
Facebook Rideshares
Car Share Options:
Zipcar.com , getaround.com , good to go, turo,
https://www.flexcar.com/inventory
Tools for businesses to promote ride sharing and reduce transportation footprint
https://www.mass.gov/guides/massdep-rideshare-program
Driving Habits:
Use moderate speed (under 50 mph.)
Use cruise control on flat highways, keep plenty of space between you and the car in front of you so you can maintain a constant speed and go easy on the breaks and accelerator. Take advantage of coasting downhill or to a stop.
A 20-30 second warm up is sufficient for most modern cars.
Don’t idle more than 10 seconds:
In car lines for take out food or coffee, bank, pharmacy or
When waiting for trains, drawbridge, or to pickup kids etc.
Limit AC Usage: At slow speed open windows, use AC conservatively at higher speeds keeping windows closed to limit drag. Park in shade if easily available, and air out the car before turning on the AC.
Track your mileage
Avoid rough roads
Aerodynamics & Excess Weight:
Rooftop storage boxes, bikes and other recreational items secured to the vehicle, will produce drag and can dramatically decrease mileage especially at higher speeds. Even open windows, open sunroofs or roof racks can affect mileage at higher speeds.
Carying excess weight in the car decreases milage as well. Empty unnecessary items from the car. A tidy car is also safer as items won't become dangerous projectiles in the event of an accident.
Seats that are never used may also be removed.
Maintenance & Gas Tips:
Check the following among maintenance items to maintain good MPG: Tune up, change spark plugs, inflate tires,
Oil change & filter (use the proper grade of energy conserving oil.)
Gas is generally cheaper on Tues, Wed., and off the highway. Use gas buddy or a similar app to compare, but don’t go out of your way. When filling the gas tank turn the nozzle upside down before removing it, do not overfill the tank, and when closing the gas lid make sure it clicks 3 times for proper seal to avoid evaporation of gas. Park in the shade when easily available.
Driving manual can also conserve gas (but don’t rest your foot on the clutch.)
Gasoline Powered Equipment
Reduce or eliminate the use of gasoline powered equipment - emissions from these are not generally regulated and can be far worse than cars!
Lawn mowers, leaf blowers, chain saws, and generators have manual, and electric alternatives which are far less polluting.
Use solar powered electric generators (LIFePo4 Batteries) to power tools away from electrical outlets.
Airline Travel Info.:
Airlines have an outsized impact on the environment.
There are ways to reduce this impact; but avoiding unnecessary flights is advised.
Consider alternatives (train, bus, EV, etc.) and compare with flight impacts
Reduce or eliminate the number of flights taken
Zoom meetings for business
Advocate for reduction of private flights.
Let airlines and policy makers know of your environmental concerns, some progress is being made with solar, electric and battery advances.
Utilize flights with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) if available
When Flying:
- Economy class has a lower per person impact than more spacious first class, or business class seating.
- Choose direct flights: Disproportionate fuel is used during take off and landing
- Choose more environmentally conscientious airlines
- Pack light! Less weight = lower impact and an easier trip. For years I bulked at my partner’s rule of one bookbag sized carry on for any flight - even when staying for weeks. But light travel is easier and I have never needed more!
- Offset Emissions Consider offsetting the emissions with conservation initiatives.
Source https://terrapass.com/blog/how-to-reduce-your-carbon-footprint-when-you-travel
Carbon Offsets https://carbonfund.org/how-to-offset-the-carbon-footprint-of-flying/
Indirect Transportation Costs:
Consider the Fuel and environmental costs of indirect transportation as well. Here are several examples.
- Eat locally produced foods to reduce food tranport ; eating foods in season reduces energy for storage facilities
- Buy locally produced products
- When ordering online: combine shipping & opt for longer shipping time to allow for optimal transport
- Cancel unused magazines, circulars; get bills electronically
- Reduction of trash and proper disposal can reduce excessive fuel expenditures and the accompanying emmisions from trash transport (Some MA trash goes as far as Alabama) as well as reducing potent GGE Methane. Along with reducing trash, separating all waste and disposing properly conserves energy and precious resources. Help by finding new homes or repurposing items. Separate yard waste, compost, recycling, textiles, special recycling, and hazardous waste.