Driving your own car every day is a fun and fulfilling experience. It gives you some gratification and pride in having control of everything happening on the road. However, there are circumstances that can make you leave your car at home. Fuel prices, traffic conditions, loneliness, mechanical problems, and health issues, among other things, call for alternative measures; and one of them is carpooling.
This is where, according to common cents mom, you enjoy the fun that comes with driving with new people and making new friends along the way. If you’re an introvert, this is a good way to get your shit together. But then carpooling is not just about having company and enjoying yourself. There are more benefits to it, and that’s what we’re going to look at in this article.
Fuel Saving
It seems like fuel prices keep increasing single day. Sometimes it goes beyond your budget, and if you’re not careful, it can drain your pocket, leaving you with no cash for other expenses. While you cannot do anything about the prices, you can do something to avoid paying the elevated costs. That is opting for cheaper travel.
You can find a group of friends heading in the same direction as you do, use one car then split the fuel price among yourselves at agreeable prices. You can even get extra cash and call it a profit if it’s your car you choose to carpool. That’s called having an economic mindset.
Conserve the Environment
Cars are leading to environmental pollution. The more vehicles on the road, the higher the harm to the environment becomes. You might think that third doesn’t affect you directly, but it does more than you can imagine. One way that carbon affects the environment if the depletion of greenery. Imagine leading in a world where there is no single plant.
Well, it’s not necessarily your responsibility, but you have a duty to protect the environment where you live for future generations. Opt for carpooling to avoid the number of vehicles emitting carbon in the air every single day.
Take Your Car for Servicing
Remember, your car needs occasional servicing. When it’s on the road day in and day out, you may not get the chance to take it to the mechanic. Do you know what this means? Faster wear and damage and before you know it, your car may one day fail in the middle of the road causing a lot of inconveniences.
Carpooling will enable you to have time to take your car for servicing and still have an alternative ride to the office or wherever you’re going. You can also take this opportunity to treat your car to some of the best pressure washer experts around. If you take it to a car wash and you’re not in a hurry to have it, your car will get thorough clean making it look as good as new.
Ease of Traffic Congestion
Many people own cars these days, and while this is a good thing, it has contributed to a lot of traffic congestion. If everybody wants to take his/her car to the road and ride alone, then there will be no more passage. If you participate in carpooling once in a while, you do a great job of pulling your car out of the road and clearing the traffic.
Imagine five people riding in one car. That’s a total of four vehicles off the road. Lesser congestion reduces travel time, saves fuel, and saves the cost of repairing roads. Do it and you’ll experience the fulfilling effect that comes with having participated in reducing traffic jams.
Health Benefits
Spending time behind the wheels will drain you physically, psychologically, and emotionally. You will have neck problems, back pain, fatigue, and stress. Having to stay for ours on traffic congestion then still experience problems securing a parking space is also emotionally draining.
All these problems are eliminated by carpooling. Riding with three or more people keeps you active and motivated. You don’t have to be the person driving which means you have extra tones of energy to save; you can even decide to take a nap in the backseat.
Networking Opportunity
When you carpool, you get the opportunity to share care with different people. This is an opportunity to interact and make friends. Who knows, this opportunity may result in a better networking opportunity, which is good for your career and business. You may not only end up with new friends but business clients as well. If you want to change your job, this is an opportunity to sell yourself, get a better working environment, and grow your career.
Convenience
One thing to be sure of is that you’ll always find people around your area heading in the same direction at the same time. So, convenience is nothing to worry about. Another thing is that you don’t have to be the driver. You can take this opportunity to work on your unfinished work, prepare a presentation, send emails, or make a few calls.
Carpooling also means you’ll reach your destination faster because most states have set aside special lanes for people willing to ride together. This means you’ll avoid congestion and have a smoother ride. Additionally, carpoolers also have special parking spaces hence easier packing.
Accessible
Carpooling involves getting a ride from people within your residence who are heading in the same direction as you do. This makes it easier and more accessible than having to walk along the way to the railway station or a bus stop to get a means of public transport. It’s also easier to collaborate with others as long as you have an agreement on the meeting point. If possible, you can pick and drop each other at their doorsteps.
Carpooling is not only beneficial for an individual but the whole community. Think about how good it feels to know that you’re helping keep the environment pollution free. What about taking part in the long fight against traffic congestion and scramble for parking spaces? There is more to carpooling than just saving money, making friends, and having a comfortable ride. This is indeed the way to go for every commuter.
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