Car-Pooling: Blast From The Past, Wave Of The Future

It seems that the price of gas is at the front of everybody’s mind these days, and it’s not hard to see why. Here in Canada we’ve got it even slightly worse than the US—our $1.36-per-litre gas translates to over 5 bucks a gallon in US funds! As the situation gets worse, it seems that many commuters are looking for more and more effective ways to save gas. Like many others, I’ve resorted to car pooling, a fad from the last oil crisis that’s making a big comeback. Not only does carpooling allow you to cut the cost of gas at least in half, and to save wear and tear on your ride—it also gives you a break from having to deal with rush-hour traffic every day. When it’s not your day to drive, you can take a snooze or drink your coffee without having to worry about dodging bad drivers. I’ve been carpooling now for nears 5 years now and it’s saved me a good chunk of change: obviously it’s way cheaper to drive your car to work one day a week than five.

In fact, some employers are even leasing vehicles for their employees to commute to work in. It benefits the company as it saves on parking, promotes employee loyalty, and provides a tasty recruitment incentive. I sure wouldn’t mind if my employer threw in a "company commuter"!

How about you—do you carpool, or would you ever consider it?