For Shame! My own home town bans one of the easiest methods of reducing carbon emissions. In other countries they even provide carpool lanes in the freeways in order to encourage people to carpool. In my previous company we even had preferential parking slots to members of registered carpools.
The main reasons behind this ban is because carpooling is used to drop off kids at school, is not regulated with safety laws and therefore does not require one to have the necessary insurance coverage.
They might want to rethink that law. Considering that carpooling is different from a school bus service, where people pay to ride on the bus. Carpooling is having a specific day where it will be your turn to drive the people to work or school. As a car owner you pay your insurance, registration and license fees. Which basically means that you have the right to go anywhere and drive for anybody in your car. That way, you aren’t making money, but you are helping to reduce your day to day energy consumption.
Article here
Category: Misc
June 1st, 2007 at 9:04 pm
I think the government has a point in regulating carpooling when it comes to children’s safety. I hope, though, that the regulation does not cover office carpooling, because you’re right about carpooling being an energy-saving practice.
June 1st, 2007 at 10:20 pm
I think the ban is quite odd. How does dropping off a friend’s or neighbor’s child to school different from dropping off your own child to school? Why does it suddenly change the required insurance policy?
June 2nd, 2007 at 3:18 pm
Don’t ask me… But I have a sinking feeling that insurance companies just want to have their way.