Making alternative transportation part of our life style is the best way to save the most money.
Here’s how:
Walk to close-by destinations instead of driving – 5 miles/week
Annual savings = $130.
Errand share with neighbors – 15 miles/week
Annual savings = $390.
Ride share to work with one co-worker – 90 miles/week*
Annual savings = $2,340.
Take Public Transportation to and from work – 100 miles/week**
Annual savings = $2,190.
Telework three days a week – 108 miles/week
Annual savings = $2,808.
Buy a hybrid car and ride share to work – 90 miles/week***
Annual savings = $2,995.

Here is the Ridesmart web site that hooks us up with others in the neighborhood whose commute is similar to ours and who are looking for ride-share partners. https://www.myridesmart.com/html/carpool.htm
Here is the Clean Air Campaign site that has cash incentives for ride-sharing.
http://www.cleanaircampaign.org/Your-Commute/Earn-Cash.-Win-Prizes and also has links to other neighbors who wish to ride-share.

*Based on an average daily commute of 36 miles and cost of automobile upkeep, depreciation and fuel of $0.50 per mile.  Insurance costs (that we have to pay whether we drive or not) are not included.  Also not included are deferred and indirect costs such as road upkeep, lost time, health costs because of pollution, etc., etc.  For scary real costs visit http://commutesolutions.org/external/calc.html
**Based on public transportation fare of $47.50 per month, parking cost savings of $30 per month, and saved mileage of 400 miles per month.
***Based on fuel efficiency of 50 mpg rather than 25.

George

]]> http://greeningneighborhoods.com/2011/10/13/alternative-transportation-the-best-way-to-save/feed/ 1 http://greeningneighborhoods.com/2011/01/21/im-drooling/ http://greeningneighborhoods.com/2011/01/21/im-drooling/#comments Fri, 21 Jan 2011 13:17:52 +0000 Rob http://greeningneighborhoods.com/?p=998

Tesla Model S sedan

I’m drooling over a car I’ll probably never own, but it’s still so gorgeous — and it’s 100% electric! If this is any indication, the future is going to look really good.

This is the all-electric Tesla S sedan, which will be available in 2011. Well, maybe in 2012. Nobody’s really sure. But when it does hit the market, here’s what you’ll get.

• Seats 7 (more specifically, 5 adults and 2 children) — I own two vehicles and it would take both of them together to seat 7
• Can go from 0-60 in 5.6 seconds with a top speed of 120 MPH
• Range of 160, 230, or 300 miles between charges (depending on battery pack)
• Charging time of 45 minutes (that’s the quick charge – I suspect a full charge will take longer, but still . . .)
• More storage space than most sedans, including a standard-size trunk and a second cargo area under the hood (under the hood?!??)
• Built-in 17-inch touchscreen for car controls and accessories, with 3G connectivity
• Price tag is expected to be just under $50,000

This summer I actually saw a Tesla Roadster, a limited production electric sports car that came out a couple of years ago. It pulled into the parking space right in front of me, and I had to work really hard not to gawk and stare. I realized later that my impulse control probably disappointed the driver, since attracting attention and stares must be one of the main features of owning a Tesla.

That $50K price tag is why I’ll probably never own one, but I can still drool. And if you really want to drool, check out this video of the Model S driving on a country road that’s almost as beautiful as the car. The only sound you hear are the wheels on the pavement.

Yesterday the foundation announced that three teams had been selected to receive a share of the $10 million award for successfully meeting the challenge:

$5 million for the best mainstream automotive entry was awarded to Edison2 from Charlottesville, VA, for the Very Light Car #98.  This car weighed only 830 pounds, used E85 ethanol fuel, and had the lowest aerodynamic drag of any 4-wheel vehicle in the competition.  This allowed the vehicle to achieve its category-winning mileage of 102.5 MPGe.

$2.5 million for the best alternative side-by-side design was won by Li-ion Motors Corp. of Mooresville, NC, for their Wave II 2-seat vehicle powered by lithium-ion batteries which can go over 100 miles without recharging.  The Wave II also achieved an astounding 187 MPGe.

$2.5 million for the best alternative tandem design was won by the X-Tracer Team Switzerland from Winterthur, Switzerland, for their E-Tracer #79.  This battery-powered, 2-seat mashup of motorcycle and car could also go over 100 miles without recharging and got an even more astounding 205.3 MPGe.  On top of that, it could go from 0-60 in 6.6 seconds.

As you might imagine, there are some very cool pictures and a lot of additional information on the Automotive X Prize web site.  The winners and many of the other contestants will also receive ongoing technical assistance from the Dept. of Energy.  Let’s hope they can turn these ideas into commercial products quickly.

One of the easiest ways for us to save money is to drive a car that gets good gas mileage.  If we are driving 10,000 miles a year with a car that gets 25 mpg (the average mileage) and replace it with one that gets 50 mpg we will save around $1,100 a year¹.

In addition if we were to ride share to work with just one other person and split a 36 mile round trip commute we would reduce our annual mileage by 4,500 miles.  That gives us a savings of $2,275 a year².

Here’s a list of the greenest cars of 2010 from greenrcars.org

The 2010 Toyota Prius

¹ Based gas at $2.75 a gallon.

² Based on federal business mileage deduction of $0.505 per mile.

Going into this project, I assumed that technology would be the salvation. But I was wrong. Behavior matters much more. Programmable thermostats don’t program themselves. The low-hanging fruit of energy efficiency is in consciousness raising.

In my house, behavior matters more than software, but hardware matters more than both.  The construction of houses—the way homes and the stuff in them are designed, built, updated, and maintained—is a much larger liability than I expected. The gains you reap from installing a smart meter and turning down the heat can be more than offset by poor insulation…

Simply going through this exercise has already yielded significant gains. In March-April 2010, my daily electricity consumption is down 8.8 percent from the comparable period a year ago. I’ve cut my energy use so far with help from readers and professionals—and without making big investments. My out-of-pocket costs have been only about $400. As I move into the next phase of making some more substantial investments in efficiency, I’m increasing my goal: I will try to reduce my home energy use by 15 percent from its 2009 level, with a stretch goal of 20 percent.

These comments should be encouraging to everyone here.  Yes, it can be done, and without breaking the bank or going crazy.  Actually, the jury may still be out on that part about not going crazy.

Follow this link for the graphic.

http://www.ge.com/visualization/driving_emissions/

6-8-10

Getting Even with BP for the Oil Spill

Most of us are pretty upset about the oil spill in the Gulf.  A couple of my friends have promised to get even with BP by not filling up at any of their gas stations even though the pretty, eco-friendly green and yellow logo is prominently displayed.

But that’s not how to get even.  If we really want to get even we have to stop using the oil companies’ products.  We have to walk more.  We have to bike more.  We have to take public transportation more.  And we have to drive less.

• Walking ten miles a week to do errands saves nearly half a gallon of gas.
• Biking thirty miles a week to get around the neighborhood saves over a gallon of gas.
• Taking public transportation seventy-five miles to and from work each week saves three gallons.
• Ride sharing with just one other person saves ninety miles a week or 3.6 gallons of gas.

This might not seem like much, but by walking, biking and ride sharing we would save 270 gallons of gas a year.  If everyone followed this prescription we could cut our national gasoline usage in half.  That’s getting even with BP for the oil spill.

George

Alternative Transportation

6-23-10

Neighbor Rob Aaron found this information from GE on the nation’s carbon footprint from automobile traffic over the Memorial Day weekend.  It assumes that everyone drove an average car that gets 25 mpg.  Then the actual carbon footprint is compared to what could have been if everyone drove a fuel efficient car.

Follow this link for the graphic.

http://www.ge.com/visualization/driving_emissions/

Notice that Georgia is ranked eighth among the top ten states having the highest carbon footprints.

Greening Neighborhoods has been asked by the City of Atlanta to participate in a new energy saving/money saving pilot program called SHINE.  Information on how we can be part of the program will be sent out next week.

George

Alternative Transportation Options

Clean Air Fact:

What do transportation and air quality have in common? In large cities, half of all smog-forming emissions come from the tailpipes of cars. Driving alone less often is the simplest way to reduce your contribution to our region’s traffic and air quality problems.

-          The Clean Air Campaign  http://www.cleanaircampaign.org/

Improve your commute or trips around town and save money! Here are some things you can do:

Commute calculator – Use it to determine an approximate cost for your commute:

http://www.cleanaircampaign.org/Take-Action/Improve-Your-Commute/Commute-Calculator

Carpooling – RideSmart offers a free service with more than 30,000 potential carpoolers or vanpoolers to connect with. Get a list of people who live and work around you by registering online and selecting your preferences. Save money by carpooling!

https://www.myridesmart.com/html/38.htm

Transit – Get information on the region’s transit systems. Use local bus and rail system whenever possible.  Goggle your local transit system.  In Atlanta http://www.itsmarta.com/

Telework – Find resources that help you request or begin a telework program at your office. Several larger employers in the area support this program and offer incentives.

http://www.cleanaircampaign.org/Our-Services/Commuter-Services/Support-for-Telework

Bicycle + walk to nearby shops, restaurants, the farmers market, and your neighbors. Sidewalks and bike lanes make it safer and easier to walk or bike to public transit from the neighborhood.

http://www.cleanaircampaign.org/Take-Action/Improve-Your-Commute/Bicycle-Walk

Share a ride -– run chores in the neighborhood with a friend or neighbor and save gas by sharing a local trip. It’s convenient and saves money!

5/12/10

Jane

Alternative Transportation

Making alternative transportation part of our life style is the best way to save the most money.

Here’s how:

Walk to close-by destinations instead of driving – 5 miles/week

Annual savings = $130.

Errand share with neighbors – 15 miles/week

Annual savings = $390.

Ride share to work with one co-worker – 90 miles/week*

Annual savings = $2,340.

Take MARTA to and from work – 100 miles/week**

Annual savings = $2,016.

Telework three days a week – 108 miles/week

Annual savings = $2,808

Buy a hybrid car and ride share to work – 90 miles/week***

Annual savings = $2,808.

Here is the Ridesmart web site that hooks us up with others in the neighborhood whose commute is similar to ours and who is looking for ride share partners.  https://www.myridesmart.com/html/carpool.htm

*Based on Atlanta average daily commute of 36 miles and cost of automobile upkeep, depreciation and fuel of $0.50 per mile.

**Based on MARTA fare of $68 per month, parking cost savings of $30 per month, and saved mileage of 400 miles per month.

***Based on fuel efficiency of 50 mpg rather than 25.