Redefine Travel: Kicking Gas Through Smarter Living
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 03.18.07
Treehugger regularly gets excited about the latest developments in greener cars and other transport options. Yet while the Tesla, the Plug-in Prius, the Vectrix, or the G-Whiz may well prove to be useful tools in reaching a more sustainable future, we should not forget that the easiest option, in many cases, is to design your life in a way that reduces dependence on the car. This is why we are so encouraged by Redefine Travel, a campaign designed ‘by students, for students’ in the Triangle area of North Carolina to increase awareness, and use, of alternative transport options like biking, busing or carpooling. Not only does the site include handy tips for road safety, and for using the local bus system, but it also includes maps and links to the local transit authority’s trip planner. And it doesn’t end there, Redefine Travel even includes a handy apartment finder, encouraging students to factor in transport considerations when choosing their accommodation. The tag line? “Does Your Apartment Kick Gas?”
Ultimately, the more people are encouraged to think about transport, and travel options, when making big choices like where to live, the more developers, town planners, and businesses will start demanding decent transit links. For more thoughts on how to cut your transport-related oil habit, see our posts on reducing car dependence, on thinking ‘mobility’ instead of vehicle, our pick of car sharing services, or our guide to greening your public transportation. Or why not try telecommuting, or think about how to encourage walkable communities or One Planet Living? So while we may still get excited by the Tesla, we get really excited about a world where the Tesla becomes less necessary.
This is actually pretty topical for me. My husband and I are selling our home to help pay for school, and also to allow us to live in an apartment closer to the center of town so we don't have to own cars. The two reasons are pretty neck in neck for prominence. Being able to ditch both cars for bicycles would cut our costs dramatically, and be easer to live within our goals of cutting consumption of gas.
For my entire adult life, I've search for residences close to work and, after having moved, work close to home. Did it mainly due to despising traffic and commuting ... but, there was also the satisfaction of biking rather than spewing pollution to work.
Glad to see that this is becoming a basis for recommending housing situations.
I went to film the Tesla for my vlog yesterday, travelling by bicycle and train. Norwich, where the car is based is a cycle friendly city. London, on the other hand, is completely hopeless and dangerous. Every reason for giving up cycling and getting an electric car was brought back to me repeatedly.