Save $2,500 a year with this one easy trick: Carpooling! 

It’s no secret that carpooling can be a great way to save money, time, stress, and the environment, but even we were surprised by just how much money you can save by making this change to your transportation routine. Sharing the costs of just one trip a week with a single carpool buddy can save you about $50 a month in fuel and parking costs. Carpool more than one day a week or with more than one other person and those savings multiply. While gas and parking are some of the most obvious costs of commuting by car, they aren’t the only costs of car ownership which is now estimated to be more than $16,000 per year in Canada.

Average savings when carpooling with one other person (parking and fuel)

Ready to trim your commuting budget? Let’s make it simple.

Introducing Ottawa Ride Match. Supported by the City of Ottawa, Ottawa Ride Match is a free ride-matching system available to anyone who lives or works in the Ottawa region. It helps identify potential carpool connections based on location, destination, and preferences.

Almost a thousand people are already actively using the system and looking to share rides.  

To get started you simply sign up and can search for a one-time ride match connection in your area or create a trip profile for recurring carpool trips you’re looking to share. EnviroCentre has prepared a short presentation on how the Ottawa Ride Match system works.  

Ottawa Ride Match is a component of TravelWise, a sustainable commuting program run by EnviroCentre on behalf of the City of Ottawa. The program helps address traffic congestion and supports the City’s goals of reducing its transportation greenhouse gas emissions.  

Some workplaces have their own Ottawa Ride Match portals where employees can create a profile to be included in the available carpool matches for that specific location. This is a great way to encourage sustainable commuting in the workplace. If your employer doesn’t already have an Ottawa Ride Match portal, ask if they would consider joining.  It’s free and simple to use! 

Using Ottawa Ride Match is an easy and accessible way to get started with carpooling, but there are alternatives. If you work in a large office, you can start by making use of the proverbial water cooler. Ask around to find colleagues who live in the same general area as you and see if they would be interested in carpooling. You can post an ad on a physical or digital bulletin board. Alternatively, begin from your starting point and ask around your neighbourhood for people who may be doing a similar commute to you.   

Once you find some suitable carpool candidates, it’s time to formalize your expectations. Make sure everyone is clear on how, or if, you’re sharing the finances, arrival and departure times and locations, or what happens if someone is late. You can also decide if you will use one vehicle or rotate vehicles between the different carpool members.   

But what if…  

In our transportation programs, a common concern we hear about switching away from one’s own vehicle is what happens if something goes wrong. What if a child is sick, you have an early or late meeting, a ride doesn’t work out, or something else unexpected happens.  

Unfortunately, these what-if situations are impossible to completely avoid, but they also exist when you use your own vehicle. Construction detours, traffic, and mechanical issues are all things which could affect your commute, and over which you have little control.

A carpool doesn’t have to be the same every day of the year, depending on your arrangements there could be flexibility for work schedules or understanding that some days driving together just won’t work.  

When your carpool is not an option there are plenty of alternatives including public transit, taxis, ride shares, or getting a lift from a friend.  

Employers can help ease the burden on employees by having emergency ride home programs. These programs cover the cost of alternative transportation to get back home, usually by taxi or a ridesharing platform. It’s far less expensive for employers to have this backup in case of emergencies than to provide subsidized parking for their employees, so it makes a good option and it helps them meet sustainability targets too! Check with your employer if they have an emergency ride home policy already, or if they would consider implementing one.  

If your employer doesn’t offer an emergency ride home, you can consider setting aside a portion of the savings you are getting from not driving alone every day and putting it towards a rainy-day fund for those emergencies. Just knowing it is available will help you shift your commute to a more economical and environmentally better choice. If your backup option is to take transit, you can now use credit, debit, or an e-wallet to pay for your ride, which makes emergency trips far less challenging.  

Give it a try! 

While the financial case for carpooling is convincing, we also appreciate its many other benefits. With more people sharing rides, traffic will be less congested, drivers happier and less stressed, while the air is cleaner and greenhouse gas emissions are reduced. Carpoolers are also able to speed up their travel time if they can access high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, or perhaps park in a prime location.  

Whether you’re heading back to the office an extra day a week, already working on-site full-time, or just need a ride somewhere, carpooling may be the best, most affordable, and most environmentally sustainable way to fill the gap!

For more information on Ottawa Ride Match or TravelWise for your workplace, please contact us at transport@envirocentre.ca 

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