Re: [pf] we took the wrong track, in the '50s and '60s

by Sharon Flesher

09 December 2000 01:47 UTC

Hi Molly,

Thanks for the interesting links. The "propeople" site certainly raises a
critical concern: how the poor and otherwise disadvantaged are left out of a
transportation scheme that invests most of its funds in the private
automobile.

Here's a couple of links you may want to check out:

GO GERONIMO has developed an innovative ridesharing program that includes a
registry with photo ID cards: http://www.gogeronimo.org

Aside from walking (which has limited effective distance), bicycling is the
most efficient and economical way to commute. Obviously, it doesn't work for
everyone, especially those with physical disabilities, concerns about
traveling through unsafe neighborhoods at night, or who live 30 miles from
work, for example. The following is a site with information about "effective
cycling" courses, which help cyclists learn how to ride safely and
predictably:

http://www.bikeleague.org/advocacy/adec.html

The only comment I would have about this one:
> Rideshare Maine has a "commute calculator" that might help you:
> http://www.ridesharemaine.org/pages/compute.html
is that it calculates only the operating costs (mostly gas), which is no
more than 25% of a person's out-of-pocket cost of driving. The fixed costs
of car ownership -- payments, depreciation, taxes, fees, insurance -- dwarf
the variable expense of gas. I doubt learning how much they spend on gas a
month will compel many people to turn to ridesharing, but calculating the
total cost of their car might.

For those concerned about energy usage, one more thing: (my apologies to
those who like sources -- I'm so horrible at remembering them!) the
fossil-fuel energy used in manufacturing a car is by some estimates equal to
the energy the car will burn up over its lifetime.

Sharon Flesher
CarSharing Traverse, Inc.
Traverse City, Mich.
sflesher@traverse.net

"Be the change you wish to see." M.K. Gandhi