One reason why I drive much less than the average LA driver is that the thought of getting into my car and venturing out on those awful streets discourages me, even 5 years later after I moved down here from my revered Bay Area.
I do my fair share of shopping at Costco and Target—not often, but enough to wish someone else could chauffer me. I hear the sustainability mafia snickering, but hey, if I shop less often, there are less greenhouse gas emissions emitted, right? Plus I don’t buy hot pockets or that rancid processed food—produce and healthy stuff make it from the Costco warehouse to my car trunk.
But what if I didn’t have to take my car? What if I could ride-share?
Carbon Voyage, which has a
ride-share program for taking UK residents to local airports, is now launching a test program that will take
shoppers to Tesco stores in the Manchester area. Working with the University of Manchester’s
Sustainable Consumption Institute, Carbon Voyage will analyze ridership patterns in the region, determine the benefits and barriers to such a system. Government data estimate that 84% of all automobile passenger trips in the UK have only one passenger in the car, so the resulting environmental, financial, and congestion costs are clear.
Sign me up in LA. I’d love to be able to do my Trader Joe’s runs with someone else doing the driving. I may even have to use my social skills, which I often find lacking in Los Angeles--a result of being boxed into a car for hours a day, no doubt.
