Greener Ways to Get to School
Exploring Alternative Transportation for School-Age Children
Aug 26, 2008
Shuttling your school-age children around for their many activities doesn't have to be a fossil fuel-intensive affair. If you're concerned about the cost of gas and the environment, especially your impact on climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, you have other, earth-friendlier transportation options:
Walk or Bike to School
If your schedule (and safety) allows, try walking or biking to and from school with your child. It's good exercise for both of you, reduces your carbon footprint and gives you time to bond with your child free of the distractions at home or in the car. (And too many children these days aren't getting enough exercise, and have come to depend on Mom or Dad shuttling them by car everywhere, even for trips or a block or two.) For smaller children, try getting them off to preschool or kindergarten using a stroller, wagon or bike trailer.
Wait for the Bus
If you live too far from school to walk or bike there, consider choosing the school bus or public transit over your car. School bus transportation helps reduce congestion on the roads, and many school districts are switching to hybrid buses with improved fuel efficiency and lower carbon dioxide emissions.
Even standard buses built in recent years are cleaner than those built 20 years ago – 60 times cleaner, according to the American School Bus Council (ASBC). There's another benefit as well: school bus travel is 13 times safer than non-commercial vehicles, the ASBC says.
Explore Car Pooling/Car Sharing
If you haven't yet, look for compatible car-poolmates among neighborhood parents whose children go to the same school as yours. You can also check out the growing number of programs in (mostly) urban areas that give non-car-owners or the mileage-minded a chance to use fuel-efficient cars with the expense of buying and owning one.
Zipcar, for example, lets you reserve and use a variety of different cars by the hour or day (it also offers an annual subscription rate). The Zipcar program is also appearing on numerous college campuses in the U.S. and Canada, reducing the need for older students to have their own wheels.
Try Other Means of Transportation
In large subdivisions or neighborhoods where schools are accessible by public paths or quiet side streets, you might be able to manage your back-and-forth routine using a minicar or golf cart (there are even companies that provide solar-power kits to make your carts sun-driven). If you're into tinkering, you might also want to try building your own HPV (for "human-powered vehicle") – check out some of the neat models and plans available at American Speedster, for example.
Whichever transportation option you decide on, be sure to always keep safety considerations first. And happy learning for the new school year!
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