[Winona] Economizing on fuel

[MJ Greenwald]

[Winona Online Democracy]

Hello: Thank you Les for your thoughtful post about economizing on fuel, touching on the carpooling issue which is an interest of mine.  You had some excellent ideas and I can find nothing to disagree with in your suggestions.   However, no single strategy will help us reduce our consumption of fossil fuels, which is obviously intimately related to our use of cars.  We need to take the baby steps you outlined, but we need to encourage larger changes too.   For example, I believe that ridesharing is relevant to everyone, even though many still need to be convinced that it is worth trying out. I was interested in ridesharing before the rise in fuel prices, because we have such poor transit in this country.  For example, there is no bus or train service between Neenah, Wisconsin and Winona, Minnesota.  Therefore, there is no way I can get my 82-year old mother (who no longer drives distances) to Winona.   If I need to get to the Minneapolis airport, my only option is the All Ways Charter (www.allwayscharter.com), which costs $70 roundtrip.  Wouldn’t it be great if I could catch a ride with someone who was going up the same time of day I needed to go?   I agree that carpooling needs to be investigated and encouraged at local businesses.  However, commutes are only part of the big picture.  According to Madison Environmental, which recently promoted a car-free day in Madison Wisconsin, 30% of all car trips are commuting trips.  The other 70% are discretionary trips, such as my trip to Neenah, to the airport, or a shopping trip.   Also, I now agree that carpooling or ridesharing will not work if only a few people in a single neighborhood participate.  It needs to be city-wide, and ideally regional-wide.  If you would like to carpool with someone for a commute, or for irregular travel, you can register right now at www.erideshare.com.     Hurricane Katrina showed us that many poor people lacked reliable transportation for fleeing a hurricane.  In our own community, we might be surprised by the number of lower income folks who struggle getting rides to everyday events, such as soccer games, job interviews, and doctor’s appointments.  There are many reasons to investigate ridesharing beyond the currently fashionable one of rising fuel prices.  Martha Greenwald

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