How does commuting affect the environment? Unfortunately, as more vehicles congest the roads across the globe, the carbon emissions from vehicles will continue to harm the atmosphere and our environment. Globally, the transportation sector is the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. In the US alone, transportation contributed 29% of emissions.
According to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 82% of the emissions in the transportation sector are caused by road transportation. These include personal cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. Fortunately, the sector is slowly transitioning and promoting eco-friendly fuel and vehicles to reduce their impact on the environment. More cities are also encouraging green commutes, an initiative to motivate commuters to walk or cycle to lessen their carbon footprint when travelling.
If you want to make your daily commutes greener, then here are some options that you can do to lessen your negative impact on the environment.
Walking
Out of all the travelling options on this list, walking is the method that has zero impact on the environment. After all, you don’t need to ride anything, so you don’t produce any harmful emissions. Since walking can be tiring, this is only a good option for nearby trips. Nonetheless, you still contribute to reducing carbon emissions since you help reduce the vehicles on the road by choosing not to take them. Besides its positive impact on the environment, walking also has a positive impact on you. After all, walking is a great form of exercise. So, you hit two birds with one stone when you walk.
Choose to ride bicycles
Cycling is one of the most efficient, active, and eco-friendly ways to travel. It doesn’t need gas to run, so it does not have any harmful emissions. Riding a bicycle is perfect for short or long trips, depending on your stamina. If you are worried about getting tired, getting an electric bike might be a better option. After all, one of the benefits of riding an electric bike is to help make pedalling easier. If you want to go further with being eco-friendly, you can buy bicycles made of eco-friendly materials, which will allow the bicycle to decompose or be recycled once it’s discarded.
Ride electric scooters
Electric scooters are becoming a popular choice as a personal transport since it’s portable, fast, efficient, and affordable. Electric scooters also don’t have any harmful emissions since they do not need fuel to run. When it comes to charging them, most electric scooters don’t take too much energy since they have lower battery capacities and can be charged for three to four hours.
Aside from this, personal electric scooters are greener than you think. Some electric scooters are made from an aluminium material that can be recycled. So, once an electric scooter is no longer usable, it can simply be recycled, reducing landfill waste.
Carpool with colleagues
One of the eco-friendly ways to commute is carpooling. Many ride-sharing services like Uber are already doing it. But, if you prefer a cheaper alternative, having you and your colleagues pitching in and riding to and from work is a cheap and eco-friendly way to commute. This is also a great way for college students to commute.
By carpooling, you help reduce the number of cars on the road since more people are riding one car. This also helps reduce congestion, which worsens carbon emissions. After all, the longer a vehicle stays on the road, the more carbon emissions that it will produce. So, choose to commute as a group.
Take public transportation
This is also the same logic as the previous point. Taking the subway or bus will help lessen the number of vehicles on the road. Although buses also produce emissions, most modern buses are already fuel-efficient and produce less carbon dioxide than before. Moreover, many cities are adopting electric buses to further reduce their environmental impact.
However, taking trains or subways is the most eco-friendly way to commute if you’re taking public transportation. In fact, rail transport only contributes 2% of the total carbon emissions in the transportation sector. For every passenger mile travelled, the subway only produces 125 g of carbon dioxide. Meanwhile, a gasoline-powered sedan can produce 375 g of carbon dioxide per passenger mile travelled.
Switch to eco-friendly cars
If you can afford to buy a vehicle, it’s best to get or switch to electric cars. Thanks to companies like Tesla, more car charging stations are available across the US, enabling electric cars to penetrate the market. Electric cars not only help reduce emissions but also
However, if you don’t have the budget you can choose fuel-efficient or hybrid vehicles. When looking for fuel-efficient cars, choose one with a low greenhouse gas emission. It’s also recommended to choose eco-friendly fuel like biodiesel.
Start reducing your carbon footprint while travelling
Walking, cycling, and riding electric scooters for commuting are the best methods to reduce carbon emissions significantly. After all, these are easy to do, more affordable, and offer the best possible outcome when reducing your carbon footprint. However, remember that no matter which green commuting option that you choose, you are already contributing to lessen the air pollution in cities.
