With the price of fuel

With the price of fuel looking like going through the $2.00 per litre ceiling sooner rather than later, and increasing pressure from the public being placed on the major parties to bring down the cost per litre, it’s time that government at all levels started looking at practical interim CO2 reduction measures.

One such measure would be car-pooling or car-sharing, which has become increasingly popular in Europe and the United States, but has never been seriously promoted in Australia.

Although car pooling would not suit all commuters, if one in six private motor vehicles carried three passengers, the number of cars on the road would be reduced by a third as would fuel costs and consumption, which in turn would make an immediate impact on motor vehicle emission levels.

However, to successfully introduce the concept of car pooling to our cities, three key factors need to be taken into consideration: Public Education, Reward and Coordination.

Public Education could be facilitated through local and regional media, e.g. ‘Feel good’ radio and TV commercials depicting less-stressed motorists travelling to and from work in the company of their work-mates, of neighbours sharing vehicles during the day to go shopping, and parents taking turns dropping off and picking up children from school and sporting events.

A reward system would need to be implemented to encourage motorists to participate in car pool schemes.

Not only would car-poolers be able to share fuel costs and use transit lanes, but re-programmed e-tags would entitle them to reduced charges on toll roads and bridges, and a suitable windscreen sticker could entitle them to reduced parking fees, and give them priority parking at sporting events, shopping malls and entertainment venues.

Another incentive would be for State Governments to reduce motor vehicle registration and green slip insurance costs to vehicle owners participating in car pools.

Initially, serious pilot projects would need to be established in capital and large regional cities, targeting motorists in those suburbs that are poorly serviced by public transport. These would also need to be evaluated and fine-tuned if required.

Regional Car Pool Coordinators would need to be recruited, to work closely with local government agencies, businesses and industries, particularly those with larger workforces heading to and from single workplace destinations.

A web-site would need to be established and promoted, to provide information on local car pools and contacts, incorporating an ‘enquiries’ database where participating motorists/passengers could be registered and linked.

Large-scale car-pools have been operating successfully in the USA and Europe for many years, and could easily be replicated in Australia. Today in the US, many cities have designated car pool stops, where motorists pick up their passengers daily. Even ‘Dagwood’ of 1950’s comic book fame, travelled to and from work via a car pool.

Although car pooling is not a long-term solution for reducing greenhouse gases, it could result in immediate, low-cost greenhouse gas reductions, whilst at the same time reducing traffic volume and road maintenance costs. It would certainly cost taxpayers substantially less than the $35million given recently by the Rudd Government to Toyota.

Although some commercial and non-commercial schemes are already operating in Australia, mainly in inner city areas, a lot more people, partcularly those living in the public transport-poor outer suburban areas would participate with increased support by government at all levels.

For more information, try a Google search on ‘car-share’ or ‘car-pooling’.

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