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RIDESHARE - Environmental

Commuting and the environment, it's a win-win situation for everyone.

Did you know?

• If only one percent of the successful match reports resulted in a rideshare arrangement that the annual benefits would be over a $1,000,000 reduction in commuting costs and a reduction of over 23 tons of carbon monoxide?

Commuters

• After you register with RIDESHARE you can track your commute each day and run reports that compute your cost savings, pollution and greenhouse gas reductions. Log in with your email address and password and click on "Track your Commute Monthly."
  • Commute mode tracker - Employer urges employees to register for Rideshare and track their commute for a free lunch if they reduce their carbon footprint. Playing time 00:01:00
    Audio transcript (Commute mode tracker)
• Did you know that your personal style of driving could have a significant impact on the environment. Check out your personal eco-driving skills.
• Check out these individual actions you can take to improve air quality as you travel.
• Learn more about environmental issues on the EPA website and calculate your household emissions.
• Use our Calculator to calculate your commuting costs and environmental impact.
• What is your environmental footprint? Calculate the amount of CO2 you personally emit per year.
  • How big is your ecological footprint? Take the quiz.
• Brookhaven National Laboratory
  • Provides environmental rideshare benefits. The average passenger car contributes annually:
    • 21 pounds of hydrocarbons
    • 234 pounds of carbon monoxide
    • 17 pounds of nitrogen oxides
    • 9,631 pounds of CO
  • Automobiles and light trucks are considered one of the largest contributors to air quality problems. EPA estimates from 2008 show that these vehicles accounted for:
    • 22 percent of total hydrocarbon emissions
    • 50 percent of the total CO emissions
    • 32 percent of the NOx emissions
    • 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions

Employers

• Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air (WPCA) – If your business is interested in sustainability and 'green' endeavors, join with other businesses that have an interest in voluntary air-quality efforts. For more information, call (414) 263-8653.
• US Green Building Council (USGBC) provides Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) credits for implemented alternate transportation efforts.
• TerraPass can help your company to demonstrate its environmental leadership by measuring, reducing and offsetting the carbon footprint of your business. It’s easy to calculate your company’s carbon footprint with this calculator.
• DNR business resources (compliance assistance, emissions inventory reporting, etc.)

All external hyperlinks are provided for your information and for the benefit of the general public. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation does not testify to, sponsor or endorse the accuracy of the information provided on externally linked pages.

You will need an MP3 player (provided free of charge) to listen to our audio files. For more information about getting a free MP3 player, visit WisDOT's Software information page.

Questions about the content of this page:
Karen Schmiechen, karen.schmiechen@dot.wi.gov
Last modified: February 7, 2013