Thrift Week, Day 6 — Transportation

Welcome to Thrift Week. Today’s topic is transportation.

There’s all kinds of conflicting information about green and thrifty transportation options. Biodiedel, hybrid, electric, even hypermiling. It’s enough to make you want to jump in front of a car, any car.

Whatever you drive, the greenest and thriftiest choice you can make is to leave your car in the garage. 

I started paying closer attention to my driving habits last year, and began putting a concerted effort into batching my errands. It’s now rare for me to drive across town to a single destination. (This is a rare situation where my natural proclivity to procrastinate is an asset.) I wait until I can no longer put off the errands, and by that point I usually have four or five things to do in that particular neighborhood.

By employing this method, I end up having three or four days per week when I don’t really drive. (Except driving my ten-year-old the 1.1 miles to school, which starts at 8:00 A.M., when it’s still a little dark. He takes a school bus home, but the morning bus comes at 7:30, which I feel is simply uncivilized. The 13-year-old takes the school bus both ways.)

I choose to live in a neighborhood which is very walkable, and this makes a huge difference in how much we drive. So even when we do drive, it’s for pretty short distances. When you choose to live rurally or in the suburbs, it is usually a decision that will require you to drive significant distances. Schools may be close, but what about the grocery store, post office, library and restaurants? Will your non-urban living choice mean you’ll be starting the car up multiple times every day? 

There is of course, the standard advice on how to squeeze every last bit of gas mileage from your car, such as:

• Remove any unnecessary belongings from your car.
• Keep the tires properly inflated.
• Remove roof racks and bicycle racks when not needed.
• Avoid rapid accelerating.
• Use your cruise control.
• Avoid idling your car.

Then there’s the advice to avoid driving such as:

• Walk.
• Bicycle.
• Carpool.
• Sell your car.

But really, the best way to drive green is to drive minimally. And this is true whether you’re driving a monster-truck or a hybrid.

My biggest gas saver? Because I live frugally, I only have to commute to work twice per week.

Want to know how walkable your neighborhood is? Walkscore.com will give you a numeric score for your address. I got an “86,” which I feel is fair, although the neighborhood business information was somewhat out of date. (Plus it listed a porno joint as a movie theater within walking range. Umm . . . no thanks.)

What do you do to minimize gas usage? Please share your tips in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

Tomorrow: Thrift Week — Day 7, Shopping and Gift Giving.

Tagged as: Amy Dacyczyn, Blogging, Blogs, Cheapskate, Compact, Dacyczyn, Environment, Environmentalism, Frugal, Frugality, Gas, gasoline, Green Living, Hypermiling, money, Money Matters, Money savings, Simple Living, The Compact, Thrift, Thrift Week, Tightwad, Tightwad Gazette, Voluntary Simplicity