Facilitate Energy-Efficient Travel

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How to take action

• Encourage car-pooling to meetings. Support the effort by putting it on the agenda at every meeting – who needs a ride, who can offer one. Help people identify others who live in the same vicinity and could ride share.
• Time meetings to tie in effectively with local transit times. Encourage people to come by bus instead of bringing a car – and make it easy by accommodating their schedule.
• Arrange rides to the nearest bus stop. If transit is available but not immediately convenient, help transit riders by suggesting that those with cars offer a lift to the transit connection.
• Support cyclists. Consider whether meeting times can be completed before dark (this may be challenging in winter) so cyclists can ride home in the light. Offer good bike parking or consider whether bikes could be brought indoors.
• If your group's membership lives at a distance from each other, consider how you might use telephone conference calls for at least some of your meetings. Conference calls can be inexpensive – members may even chip in for the cost, since they'll save on gas, and the time it would take to travel. Explore options such as Skype to further reduce costs.
• If your group is a strata council, or another residential organization, create a communal ride-share board where people can post notes requesting a lift or offering one. Post transit schedules for the routes that are nearby, and a map showing where local bus or other transit stops are. Post a map showing bike routes, if available.
• Consider tracking your group's total transportation impact for a period of time – then running a "challenge" to see if everyone collectively can reduce it.

Why it makes a difference

• People often default to the car because they feel stressed about time. Planning meetings that accommodate ride-sharing, transit, and bicycling will help people consider their options and feel encouraged to reduce car use.
• Emissions from transportation made up 37% of B.C.'s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2005 – up 42% from 1990. Of those, 60% came from road vehicles, predominantly light passenger vehicles (cars, minivans, etc.). Using passenger vehicles less, by opting for more efficient transportation or by sharing rides, is an important way to help mitigate climate change.

For more information

• See the Green Your Community Transportation Guide for more ideas and resources.