How to Save Money & the Earth with Carpooling Efforts

Guest Blog #56, Entry #474, April 10, 2011

With the cost of gas rising everyday, the reality of finding creative ways to save money and the Earth’s resources are becoming more evident daily. Depending on where you live, carpooling may be a viable option for you, as well as help build camaraderie between you and neighbors, coworkers, family members, etc…

Get “rewarded” for carpooling!

Today, I feature Guest Blogger, Trevor Stuart from Completeinsurance.ca another great resource from “‘My Blog Guest”. Trevor gives you easy steps to set up a carpool based on your lifestyle, and preferences you have in your daily schedule. If there is one thing we could all use, is an easier way to save money on gas, and save our environment at the same time.

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Carpools are a great way to save time, money, hassle and the environment. Although most people associate carpools with parents trying to get their kids to school, carpools can be of service to just about everyone. For example, if two of your coworkers live down the block, why not save gas by carpooling? If four of your friends are going to a play with you, why not pick everyone up instead of making each person pay separately for parking, as well as cutting down on the amount of pollution five separate cars would emit? If you’re a parent who can’t drop their kid off at school in the morning but can pick up in the afternoon, why not team up with another parent who has the opposite schedule to make your life easier? If you’re interested in setting up a carpool, here are some helpful tips.

Who do you want in your carpool?

If you are going to end up driving twenty minutes out of your way to pick up someone, then they’re not a good carpool candidate. The best carpool candidates are the ones that live very close to you or on the way to your destination. Keep in mind that even if you don’t know anyone who wants to carpool personally, if you go online you can do a search for carpools. Many people looking to carpool will post online at ride sharing sites so they can meet up with other people and form carpools.

Carpooling with coworkers can be benefecial

Determine a schedule or payment options:

Once you’ve secured everyone’s cooperation, either make up a schedule that shows who is driving on what day, or figure out how much money everyone should pony up to cover the gas costs of the person doing the driving. Make sure to set up schedules ahead of time so people and to actually stick to them so people can make plans for the days they are not driving. If you have to change a schedule, give as much advance notice as possible. When asking for gas money, make sure that you have specified the amount required and when it should be paid. Don’t just casually shrug it off and say, “Hey, a couple of bucks whenever works for me,” because you have probably just guaranteed that the person will never hand over any money.

Switch off days to carpool the neighborhood kids

Set ground rules for your carpool:

For parents doing carpool, that may mean that they may not drive and talk on the cell phone at the same time and that they can’t run errands before dropping the kids off at home. One ground rule that definitely applies to everyone and anyone involved in a carpool is that they must be on time. That means the driver has to show up when they said they would, and the people being picked up must be ready when the driver comes. Lateness is the number one problem in carpools, and if people can’t get their acts together, the likelihood of the carpool falling apart is high.

This post was written by Trevor Stuart from Completeinsurance.ca – a website about auto insurance companies in Canada.

For more green living ideas on Stagetecture, click here.