Benefits of Sharing Rides

Video Transcript

"Hi. Dr. Roadmap here. I'd be remiss about talking about beating traffic if I did not include mention of "ride sharing." Believe it or not, it really works. If you don't believe it, listen to what happened during the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles when we had, you know, many more millions of people. Actually, accidents dropped by 16%; congestion dropped by thirty percent. So it really does work. Some of the advantages are: you get to save money! In other words, less gas, less wear and tear on your car, less maintenance, less parking costs, even sometimes less insurance. Some figures quote three thousand dollars per year savings by ride sharing. And all you have to do is maybe just do it one or two days a week. It's not like you have to do it everyday. Also if you, let's say, take the bus to work or if somebody drives you to work, and you get stuck and you need to get home for an emergency, most ride sharing programs include guaranteed ride home (where you can get a taxi voucher or use a company van and that will get you back home in a pinch). And like I said, carpooling can be flexible (in particular car pooling), because you are riding with someone who has the same needs as you do. In other words, sometimes they may have to drop somebody off at work. I mean, sorry, they may have to pick up clothes from the laundry, pick up groceries or pick up a child from after school. You've got a carpool partner; they'll accommodate you (and visa versa when you drive). So you can't beat car pooling. Plus, you get to use the high occupancy vehicle lanes (the car pool lanes) which saves a minute per mile. Like I say, you can't leave out that way of beating traffic!"