Buying and driving a car have long been considered “rights of passage” in American society.  Who doesn’t know a kid who received a new car as a graduation present from high school?

Driving a car also represents the ultimate freedom.  All you need to do is get in that car and go for a drive and you feel free…you can drive anywhere you want for as long as you want… as long as the gasoline holds out, of course.

That’s a few of the reasons why Americans resist car pooling.  Another reason is logistical…many people live so far from their jobs, or from their other co-workers, that there’s simply no way they can conveniently carpool together.

So, of course, the web has come to the rescue.  Here’s a site that helps car poolers connect: http://www.carpoolconnect.com/.  You simply input the zip codes for your home, and for your destination, and the site will let you know if there are any other people in those areas who want to car pool.  (Note that you have to create a free account before you can do any searches.)  The site also has a message forum where people can discuss car pooling issues.

There are also plenty of Park and Drive lots, which are a boon to people who live in the suburbs but have to travel downtown.  You park your car in a lot, and take a bus in, which saves a lot of space downtown, not to mention congestion and gasoline fumes.

No one’s stepped up yet to create a website that lists Park and Drive lots for all cities, so you’ll have to do some searching on your own.  Ask at your Human Resources department if they know of any lots in your area, and so on.

Park and drive isn’t just for commuting to work, of course.  It makes sense to use these lots if you do a lot of travelling via airplane as well.

Whenever you’re using this kind of transportation, you need to cultivate patience.  Bring a book along to read on the ride, or play games on your Iphone, or whatever.

Using these alternate forms of transportation may seem frustrating at first, if you’re used to being able to just get in your car and go whenever you want, but once you get used to it you’ll find that in the long run you actually do save some time by carpooling or riding with others.  And if you don’t save time…you’ll save the feeling of frustration you get by sitting in traffic!  (You may still be sitting in traffic, but you’ll be able to read or play games or use your time productively as you do so.)