Save CEBU’s Trees 5: The Ride-sharing Solution
Welcome to Day 5 of Save Cebu’s Trees! Yesterday we talked about Road Safety and Courtesy Solutions to ease congestion in the south without widening the road. Now the point I want to bring up is that perhaps there are far too many cars than need to be on the road. So here’s another solution I propose – Ride-sharing.
What is RIDE-SHARING?
Definition from Wikipedia
It is the sharing of car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car. (also known as carpooling, car-sharing, lift-sharing and covoiturage)
By having more people using one vehicle, carpooling reduces each person’s travel costs such as fuel costs, tolls, and the stress of driving. Carpooling is also seen as a more environmentally friendly and sustainable way to travel. Sharing journeys reduces carbon emissions, traffic congestion on the roads, and the need for parking spaces.
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| Image from repubblica.it |
Ride-sharing = savings =less carbon emission =cleaner air =healthier Cebuanos
= Roomier road = less stressful driving=happier Cebuanos
(and there’s a bonus: making a friend/or bonding time)
Intro to RIDESHARING
Info Source
Today, rising mobility needs and a growing urban population are placing increasing pressure on transport infrastructure. With millions of cars on the roads, traffic congestion is becoming a huge problem for many cities in the world. In Europe alone it is causing significant fuel wastage, increased pollution and accounting for an estimated €105bn per year in lost GDP.
(1) Moreover, without policy changes, 2 to 3 billion cars will be on the world’s roads by 2050–a 275% increase on the number of cars today.
(2) People and cities need to be encouraged to make more sustainable choices in the way they travel.(in Europe they push this campaign during the European Mobility Week (Sept 16-22)
(2) People and cities need to be encouraged to make more sustainable choices in the way they travel.(in Europe they push this campaign during the European Mobility Week (Sept 16-22)
What does this all mean?
Info Source
1. Instead of building new, costly infrastructure, we need to focus on ways to better leverage our existing transport systems.
2. Ridesharing platforms are a great example of this – helping to relieve the pressure on our roads by turning the empty seats in people’s cars into an extensive transportation network.
3. “Modern technology now enables everyone to carpool in a way that is both practical and reliable,” says Markus Barnikel, CEO of ridesharing platform carpooling.com. “Instead of driving alone or buying a car that sits idle 20 hours a day, today people can pull out their smartphone and find rides on-the-go – saving money and helping to reduce traffic and CO2 in the process.”
4. While the car will continue to play an important role in the future, it’s clear that travel behavior is changing. Technological innovation and increasing motoring costs (especially fuel prices) are encouraging the uptake of new mobility solutions such as car sharing, carpooling, Read more
Here is a chart that shows some Carpooling Facts in Europe
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| Image from carpooling.com via greengopost (click to enlarge) |
Here are a few posters and signages that I have gathered that promote the smart and sustainable mobility solution of RIDE-SHARING:
These first four charts are from carpooling.com. What a brilliant presentation to convince the world to start carpooling.
These first four charts are from carpooling.com. What a brilliant presentation to convince the world to start carpooling.
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” Why the world needs to start carpooling”, Chart # 1
Info from carpooling.com
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“Why the world needs to start carpooling”, Chart # 2
Info from carpooling.com
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“Why the world needs to start carpooling”, Chart # 3
Info from carpooling.com
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“Why the world needs to start carpooling”, Chart # 4
Info from carpooling.com
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“Keep Calm and Join CARPOOLING”
Image from KeepCalmStudio
“When you ride ALONE, you ride with Hitler!”
A poster used to promote carpooling as a way to ration gasoline during World War II. (printed by US Gov’t.) Read about the history of carpooling
SCHOOL POOL
“BE COOL, USE CARPOOL”
“Start a carpool”
CARPOOL Poster
Tyson Foods, Inc., Springdale, Arkansas, USA
Some Ride-Sharing/Carpooling
FUNNIES:
Image from Openideo
“There was a good reason everyone wanted Moses in their carpool.”
Here are some informational videos I have gathered for you. As we will see in these videos the whole concept of mobility in the world is changing. ‘Car access’ now makes better sense than ‘car ownership’. If you’re going where I’m going then we should share a ride. It saves money, it’s good for the environment and it lessens traffic.
It’s good to see these videos and analyze what part of the carpooling practice we can adapt. It has to be made clear that there is a difference between safe car pooling and hitch-hiking or slugging a.k.a. casual carpooling (meaning just picking up some random stranger on the street, which is practiced in the USA by people in certain states during rush hour so they can get on the roomier lane- the carpooling lane).
In the Cebu setting, it is best to:
1. organize ride-sharing within your existing group (family/clan, school, office, church, civic organisation, residential compound/village, etc)
2. have an official passenger list, signed by passengers and the driver (list stays with respected elder at the starting point of journey) so that everybody is accounted for
3. prepay fare so that there is no need for driver to collect upon drop off
4. have an agreed waiting time (in the case of roundtrip ride-sharing)
Learn about the CARPOOLING TIPS & ETIQUETTE
Read this article “CARPOOL TO SCHOOL OR RIDESHARE TO THE OFFICE”
1. Carpooling in China
Carpool Campaign Gets Rolling in China’s Capital
China’s capital Beijing is one of the world’s most polluted cities. Many blame the frequent smog on the city’s more than five million vehicles. But, where some see cars as a source of pollution, others see a solution as well. VOA’s Bill Ide reports from the Chinese capital about efforts to make carpooling more common place. Video from Voice of America
My thought: this is ‘casual carpooling’, i don’t recommend this for everyone…could be a little dangerous in my opinion but BRAVO to those who do this in China since there’s just too many cars running and they are experiencing dire levels of air pollution, posing a serious health threat…
2. Carpooling in universities in Australia
“Be Cool, Carpool”, Deakin University, Australia
Video Source
3. Carpooling in Italy
Carpool video by ECOSEVEN
4. Carpooling in Europe
by means of a ride-sharing platform called carpooling.com
Video 4A – Need a ride? Try carpooling!
Carpooling.com
-is a multimodal platform, which also integrates bus, train and plane offers so people can compare and choose the most convenient way to travel.
-wants to make carpooling easy, safe and accessible to all
-In just a few seconds, drivers can offer empty seats and passengers can book a ride to their destination. People can check user profiles and choose who they want to ride with, how much space and comfort they need, where they want to meet and what they are willing to pay.
-connects people in over 40 countries so they can travel together.
Today the site is available in 7 languages: English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Polish and Spanish
Check out this pretty impressive data visualization of CARPOOLING in Germany.
Video 4B- “CARPOOLING: The Future of Mobility”
Video Source
5. Carpooling in Europe
by means of a ride-sharing platform called BLABLA CAR
A Promotional Video of Blabla Car
BlaBlaCar is a trusted community marketplace that connects drivers with empty seats to passengers looking for a ride. BlaBlaCar transports over 600,000 passengers every month creating an entirely new, people powered, transport network. With a dedicated customer service, a state of the art web and mobile platform, and a fast-growing community of users, BlaBlaCar is making travel social, money-saving and more efficient for millions of members across Europe. Read more
6. Carpooling in California, USA
Lyft (pink moustache) American ride-sharing platform
Video from Los Angeles Times
7. Carpooling in Bogotá
(Colombia, South America)
easyway– Transporte compartido
Ride-sharing (or carpooling) is definitely the way to go. Like any other shared-mobility options there are safety and security issues. So as I said in a previous paragraph we cannot blindly copy the carpooling model of Europe & the USA…the kind of ride-sharing that could safely apply in Cebu is one that requires pre-screening, pre-selection, pre-payment (whenever payment is involved) and is among peers.
Going back to the point of all this…
I propose that all Cebuanos practice road courtesy and road sharing. And as often as possible, we should be ride-sharing too!
Better road sharing + Frequent ride sharing = Less traffic
Less Traffic = No need for a wider road = No need to ax the 154 majestic mature trees of the Naga-San Fernando-Carcar Greenway
I propose that all Cebuanos practice road courtesy and road sharing. And as often as possible, we should be ride-sharing too!
Better road sharing + Frequent ride sharing = Less traffic
Less Traffic = No need for a wider road = No need to ax the 154 majestic mature trees of the Naga-San Fernando-Carcar Greenway
This post concludes my 5-day feature on “SAVE CEBU’s TREES”. Ever wonder why I have put so much time and heart into this week’s blog? Because I cannot just leave these innocent trees on death row. So if you join me in this crusade, please help spread the word …
“Try ride-sharing, road courtesy
Ax bad road habits, let’s save Cebu’s trees!”
(excerpt from the poem ‘Save Cebu’s Trees’ by yours truly, P.Constancia)
I believe that together we can stop the mass murder of these trees. They are some of the very few that remain of our natural heritage as Cebuanos. Certainly, these trees will want to say “thank you”. And how will they do that? You mean other than providing free air-conditioning 20 hours a day? Read below…
“Try ride-sharing, road courtesy
Ax bad road habits, let’s save Cebu’s trees!”
(excerpt from the poem ‘Save Cebu’s Trees’ by yours truly, P.Constancia)
I believe that together we can stop the mass murder of these trees. They are some of the very few that remain of our natural heritage as Cebuanos. Certainly, these trees will want to say “thank you”. And how will they do that? You mean other than providing free air-conditioning 20 hours a day? Read below…
“When you see the trees swaying
to the tune of a gentle breeze…
think of it as a dance
in your honor.”
DAILY DOSE OF ART 
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