Protecting our planet and keeping it healthy is our solemn duty as the most intelligent life forms here, but we haven’t been doing a very good job of this lately. Each year, we are seeing new and increased harm done to the environment, and it pushes us to come up with solutions. Certainly, a shift to fossil fuels and changes in our resource consumption can have a big impact, but we should also remember about other practices that can have a smaller yet tangible positive effect. It is our opinion that
ridesharing belongs on this list.
This article aims to examine ridesharing in the context of multiple passengers uniting for trips in one car, and the positive environmental benefits this will have. Right off the bat, we want to say that most of the benefits listed add up to a reduction of carbon emissions, but the ways in which it happens are different.
1. Fewer cars on the road
It is quite astounding how much of an impact private and commercial carpooling can have on the roads. For example, if five friends wanted to go to a concert together, they could each take their own car or jump in a single car together and go. The simple act of taking 1 car will cut emissions by about 75 percent, and the more people participate in these arrangements, the smaller the overall carbon footprint is.
2. Shorter rides
As a repercussion of ridesharing and fewer cars on the road in particular, it should be easier for the cars on the road to get around. With a large percentage of carpoolers, traffic jams will be less likely to occur and people can get to their destinations faster. These shorter rides mean less fuel consumed and less air polluted.
3. A drop in manufacturing
Ridesharing is usually a very affordable option, offering a more affordable ride than a trip in a personal vehicle and a level of comfort superior to that offered by most forms of public transportation. Thus, the appealing nature of the practice is causing people to buy fewer cars. Subsequently, factories need to produce fewer units and pollute the surrounding environment less.
4. Reducing habitat destruction
This benefit is part of the domino effect of fewer cars on the road. With roadways becoming less congested, urban planners and local governments will have little incentive to build new roads. Given the fact that new roads often traverse areas with abundant wildlife, the proliferation of carpooling is contributing to wildlife preservation.
5. Improvements to fuel efficiency
Companies that operate whole fleets of ridesharing vehicles need to find ways to make their service more appealing than their competitors’, and one of the ways they do this is through good vehicles. Most of the time, these services add new and fuel-efficient cars to their fleet, including electric vehicles, hybrids, and those with a low consumption rate. These new and innovative automobiles are a far cry from the gas guzzlers of the 20th century, and do substantially less damage to the environment.
