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In support of Kyoto Global Warming Agreement
In support of the idea: “petroleum is for Fun or delivery, not for daily commute”
Preface
Ironically, most petroleum consumers, witnessing daily increases to the cost of gas and the gradual devastation to our environment, wish to conserve fossil fuel. We want to give our future generations an Earth, which is productive and habitable, not one that has suffered an ecological holocaust. Yet with our own need for gas and urgency to get from place to place as quickly as possible, how can we afford not to fill our cars up when the light flickers? With neither subway nor light railway available, we rely on our fuel-inefficient cars to take us, one at a time, around the city.
To remedy this problem, eFun presents the idea of the “Mass Car Pool System.” In short, alternate the use of everybody's car to car-pool everybody.
In theory, America , which boasts a well-established, continuously-building highway system, allows individuals to transit across both city and nation quickly and efficiently. Yet with the continuously-increasing number of American drivers, the major urban highways suffer great congestion and speedy travel becomes stop-and-go. Moreover, most American cities do not offer a light rail or subway, and bus service, if available at all, is infrequent and unreliable. Without stopping us from moving freely, how can we drive less and avoid the sluggishness of “rush hour” traffic?
Concept
Imagine a freeway as a bus route with each on- and off-ramp serving as a bus station. People come to the “bus station” by bike, scooter, or on foot. They wait under different signs that show them where to go.
Ordinary people—those not hired to drive by a corporation or the government—are invited to pick up one to three passengers from specific stations before merging onto the freeway. The driver and his passengers share a destination and upon reaching their terminus, the car exits the freeway to unload at the bus station. From here, everyone goes to his/her office or returns home by bike, scooter, or on foot.
This sounds efficient and ideal.
In the city, freeway exits are typically about 2 miles apart. A “car pool loading station” (Node) would be constructed near each freeway exit and entrance and the freeway itself would have more car pool lanes to privilege car poolers over solo drivers.
Types of driving
For greater efficiency, it is instrumental to separate peoples' moving into three types according to the flexibility of each group's time and destination. For instance, Type 1 travels primarily in the morning and according to a fixed time and destination, such as one's commute between home and office by 8am, Monday to Friday.
Type 2 movers are those who travel later in the day and whose time and location may be more relaxed, such as taking one's children to a sports activity or music lessons. As with the first type, the children should travel with others who play on their team or practice with them.
Type 3 movers would be qualified as those not already listed, traveling without a fixed time or destination. Such individuals may include those who wish to see a film, but have no preference for time or theater. These travelers would likely move later in the evening or on the weekends and frequently as a family or group of friends.
Car-pooling for Type 1 is the easiest and can be arranged most reasonably between co-workers who share the fixed time and destination and/or travel in the same direction to the office. Type 2 and Type 3 car poolers are the ones the “Mass Car Pool System” can help most.
This system can be effective whether drivers and their passengers are on their way to work, as they would be during the week, or to a leisure activity either after work or during the weekend. Yet car pooling for the daily commute between home and office is the area we should especially focus on limiting the number of cars on the road.
Possible challenges
Any of the above car-pooling types can be assisted by the new system through the use of existing facilities (i.e. private car and highway system). We would only need to resolve the challenges to our unique idea and establish regulations of driving cars and using highways.
Possible problems we need to solve include:
• Auto insurance policy is required by law to cover passengers if an accident occurs.
- An incentive system to encourage cars to use the freeway with more passengers. In addition, in order to add more car pool lanes, we can apply a financial incentive. For example, a highway user premium can be added. Annual registration fee of cars allowed to drive on the freeway with only one person will include a tax which car-pool only drivers will not have to pay.
- A covered passenger loading- and unloading-station (Node) which would accommodate more people, especially during the winter or rainy season.
- For passenger protection, a radio-transmitting device to contact the police if necessary. A special button might even be installed in the passenger's cellular phone.
- For driver protection, a radio device in his car or phone can be activated to notify police that a passenger must be removed.
Can we “brain-pool” to make this happen?
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