Driving to work has a lot of benefits.  Sure, some will begrudge their trek due to the congestion and distance.  However, driving to work can be a great opportunity for listening to an audio book, looking the local scenery, and helping the environment.

Helping the environment?  Don’t cars burn fuel and send emissions into the air?  Yes, they do and if you car pool to work you will dramatically cut down the impact that vehicles have on the environment.

Car pooling is a relatively simple process.  Instead of driving to work individually, a group of people who work together and live close to one another will drive to work in a single car.  Each member chips in for gas and makes sure to punctually pick everyone at agreed an agreed upon time and location.  Yes, it is that simple! And it certainly helps the environment….

The price of a barrel of oil is based on supply and demand.  When cars are consuming significant amounts of gasoline, the supply of oil will drop.  This means the finite oil resources the world has will further deplete.  This will not only raise the price of gasoline, it will necessitate further oil drilling and exploration.  Again, much of these fossil fuels could be conserved if people opted to carpool.  After all, fewer cars on the road would mean less demand for oil.

Moreover, when a car’s internal combustion engine burns gasoline, the emissions have to go somewhere.  Where the emissions go is right out of the tailpipe and into the air.  Depending upon the size of the vehicle, upwards of 1.5lbs of carbon dioxide can be released into the environment per mile.  That means three vehicles on the road traveling on a 20 mile round trip could pump out 90lbs of carbon dioxide per day!  Why not carpool and cut that number down by at least a third?

Reducing the number of cars on the road also helps maintain infrastructure.  The less cars traveling on a road, fewer repairs on the road will be required.  That also helps the cause of conservation because fuel and energy expenditures will be needed to perform any repair work.

Then, there is the issue of safety on the road.  As far as simple math goes, the less number of cars congesting the highway the less chance there will be for accidents.  No, you cannot eliminate the potential for accidents but you can reduce the probability.  Car pooling is one war to do this.

For those on a budget, an enormous cost saving that can be derived from car pooling.  If you are carpooling with five different people with each one alternating cars each day, you will cut down on your car’s usage by 80%.  This means less wear and tear on your car, less mileage on the engine, and fewer trips to a mechanic.  Such limited use will extend the life of your car by many years saving you a great deal of money in the process.

Lastly, one of the most overlooked benefits of carpooling is the social advantages.  Driving to work all alone can be solitary and boring.  Why not spend your drive time telling stories, discussing the news, or laughing at jokes with your colleagues?  It is a lot more fun than sitting in traffic in solitude!

Photo by: Alexey Stiop -
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