The transport sector is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse emissions to the atmosphere. Cars cause tremendous harm to the environment through the production of toxic pollutants, greenhouse emissions, air pollution, and acid rain which have varied effects on biotic and abiotic systems. As a result, environmental protection is increasingly becoming a top priority for the transport sector in the modern globalized world. Cognizant of the fact that cars cannot be abandoned as the means of transport, advances in technology targeting reduction of emissions to the environment have become a priority in the transport sector. The concept of ridesharing is one such important ecological concept that can greatly decrease greenhouse emissions to the environment. The purpose of this paper is to promote ridesharing to stakeholders in the transport sector, particularly private car owners.
Previous Approaches
Ridesharing is a concept that allows owners of private cars to share rides with others to save on costs, thereby reducing the number of vehicles on the road. Ultimately, the reduction of the number of vehicles on the road minimizes greenhouse gas emissions (RideAmigos, 2019). Ridesharing is effective particularly in the present digital era of smartphones. Previous approaches in the transport sector such as hitchhiking were not effective. Hitchhiking involved asking for strangers for a ride in their private vehicles, which was often but not always free (Portis, 2015). The danger with hitchhiking, however, was the rampant insecurity cases such as carjackings and kidnappings. Asking for strangers for a free ride was not always possible since motorists were skeptical about the security challenges. In many cases, people only gave rides to people they were familiar with. Moreover, hitchhiking was not reliable since there were no guarantees that one would find a private car to a particular destination at a convenient time. Ultimately, hitchhiking did not minimize the number of vehicles on the road (Portis, 2015). Other extant approaches include modern taxi services such as Uber that pick passengers at particular points and take them to specific destinations. Uber services are, however, cheaper than the mainstream means of transport and therefore widely used due to their affordability. Uber services have to a large extent, increased the number of cars on the road as opposed to reducing them since many people now invest in Uber.
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New Findings
Unlike hitchhiking and other previous approaches, rideshares are more reliable, secure, and convenient. Smartphones and applications have enabled rideshares to guarantee passengers convenience and security to their destinations. Importantly, rideshares are not free and are generally cheaper than other means of transport such as taxis and public transport. Rideshares are formalized through smartphone applications or websites so that passengers can get to varied destinations at an affordable cost (Coomes, 2018). Owners of private cars can create their profiles on the website or applications and give details about their cars so that passengers can know what they want. The drivers could also indicate the prices charged to fixed destinations. Every route can be tracked using GPS so the passenger is able to know how far they are from their destinations at all times. Ridesharing applications fall into two categories; carpooling and private ideas. Carpooling is where individuals traveling to a certain destination in their own vehicles but rent out the extra seats to other passengers. Carpooling is an affordable and environmentally-friendly means of transport as there are more people in one vehicle, which makes it ecological and economical (Coomes, 2018). In carpooling, the passenger can quote the price to pay that could be subject to negotiations. On the other hand, private rides are similar to taxi services where people who own their vehicles can offer passengers rides to specific destinations at a fee. Private rides often pick passengers from the latter’s preferred points. Private rides are a bit expensive since drivers are forced to go to the passenger’s destination. However, like carpooling, it is ecological since many passengers can be in the same vehicle, thereby minimizing the impact of cars on the environment.
According to a research study conducted by the Transportation Sustainability Research Center, for every car that is shared, nine to thirteen cars are kept off the road. The reason for the decrease in the number of vehicles due to car-sharing is that many people want to avoid the high costs of buying their own cars and thus prefer renting or postponing purchasing their own motor vehicles (Shaheen & Chan, 2015). The research further revealed that car-sharing services reduce air pollution by 34% to 41% per year in every household that chooses to share or rent cars (Shaheen & Chan, 2015). Ridesharing has numerous ecological benefits and can therefore significantly minimize environmental pollution. First, the use of rideshare applications ensures that people use fewer cars which reduces the congestion of motor vehicles and by extension minimize greenhouse gas emissions. Since ridesharing is cheaper than using alternative means of transport or simply buying a private car, encouraging the use of the application will lead to a drastic decline in the number of cars on roads and cities. The fewer the motor vehicles on the road, the less the harmful impact on the environment (Tasker & Baloch, 2015). Additionally, ridesharing minimizes the use of non-renewable sources of energy which are more harmful to the environment. Fewer cars on the road mean the combustion of fuel and resultant emission of greenhouse gases to the environment is minimized. According to the Urban Mobility Scorecard, a decrease in car congestion significantly reduces fuel waste. Essentially, motor vehicle congestion leads to the burning of an excess of three billion gallons of fuel every year. Based on these findings, it is the collective responsibility of car owners and the public as a whole to consider renting cars instead of buying their own. The war against global warming must be centered on measures and policies such as ridesharing which minimize environmental pollution.
Conclusion
Ridesharing is an important concept in the transport sector whose full implementation could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Ridesharing could include carpooling or private rides both of which are economical since they ensure more people use fewer cars hence minimizing environmental impacts. Unlike previous approaches such as hitchhiking, rideshares are formalized through smartphone applications or websites so that passengers can get to varied destinations at an affordable cost. They are also more convenient, secure, and reliable. Summarily, rideshares have significant ecological benefits; first, the use of rideshare applications ensures that people use fewer cars which reduces the congestion of motor vehicles and by extension minimize greenhouse gas emissions. Since ridesharing is cheaper than using alternative means of transport or simply buying a private car, encouraging the use of the application will lead to a drastic decline in the number of cars on roads and cities. The fewer the number of motor vehicles on the road, the less the harmful impact on the environment. Additionally, ridesharing minimizes the use of non-renewable sources of energy which are more harmful to the environment. Fewer cars on the road mean the combustion of fuel and resultant emission of greenhouse gases to the environment is minimized. Therefore, there is a need for the implementation of strategies to enhance awareness of ridesharing to increase its use. Ridesharing is an important step in curbing global.
References
Coomes, K. K. (2018, July 1). The Best Ridesharing Apps for 2019 | Digital Trends. Retrieved December 12, 2019, from https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-ride-sharing-apps/.
Portis, J. A. (2015). American and the decline of hitchhiking. Unpublished , 1 (1), 1–329.
RideAmigos. (2019). Ridesharing management: Tools and programs from RideAmigos. Retrieved December 12, 2019, from https://rideamigos.com/ride-sharing-management/.
Shaheen, S., & Chan, N. (2015). Mobility and the sharing economy: impacts synopsis. Transportation sustainability research center - University of California, Berkeley , 1 (1), 1–4.
Tasker, S. L., & Baloch, S. (2018, October 5). The environmental benefits of ridesharing. Retrieved from https://hyrecar.com/blog/environmental-benefits-ridesharing/.
