According to About.com, cars are one of the leading causes of noise pollution:

Cars–One of the complaints of those who live in big cities or on busy streets is the disruption from the sounds of traffic. Interestingly, though, even low levels of traffic noise can be damaging to people, and traffic noise is one of the most commonly experienced contributors to noise pollution.

Fewer vehicles on the road means less noise pollution for everyone. Read the full article to learn more about the negative effects noise pollution has on productivity and health as well as what you can do to reduce those effects.

If you could carpool to work, would you? You know the benefits. It saves gas money and reduces wear and tear on your vehicle. Carpooling also helps save the environment because there are fewer vehicles on the road releasing emissions. It’s true that many carpools require that you take a turn driving, and perhaps you consider that to be a downside.

What if there were a ride share program that you could join without involving your personal vehicle, meaning you would never have to do any driving? The Rural Vanpool Assistance Program might be a great fit for you. By taking advantage of this program as a start-up employment commuter, with your trip originating or ending in a rural county, your vanpool can save up to 60% of the operational cost. The Department of Transportation is offering Federal stimulus dollars to cover 60% of the operational cost. This is a huge savings!

In addition, anyone traveling to work by vanpool at least three days a week is automatically eligible for our Guaranteed Ride Home Program.

For more information on how to get started visit our Vanpooling page or call 1-800-454-7433.

StarMetro is holding two listening sessions on Thursday, September 2, to garner feedback about the proposed bus stop locations for its route decentralization project known as Nova2010. The first session will take place from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., and the second session will take place from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Both sessions will take place in C.K. Steele Plaza. Bus patrons who cannot attend these Listening Sessions may view the bus stop location maps online and submit online feedback and/or call StarMetro’s main office at 850-891-5200.

You can read the entire press release online. You can also follow StarMetro updates on Facebook and Twitter (@starmetro_).

Here are five tips to easily lower your transportation costs.

• Dealing with the Pressure!
  The number printed on your car tires is NOT the amount of air they need. That’s actually the maximum the tire can safely hold. The best tire inflation pressure for your vehicle is listed on a sticker in the driver’s side door jamb or the glove box, or check your owner’s manual. Keeping your tires at these recommended levels will make them last longer and your ride safer. And according to the US EPA, you’ll get a boost in fuel economy, too—saving as much as 8 cents per gallon!
• Lose Unwanted Pounds, Get Less Gas!
  Items that ‘live’ in your car cost you money! The weight of sports gear riding around in the trunk or the wind drag of an empty rooftop carrier increases the fuel your vehicle consumes. Whatever or whenever it’s not actually needed, you might want to take a minute and leave the extra stuff at home. Your engine–and your wallet–will thank you!
• Plan to Save Yourself some Money!
  Combining errands into one trip gets you better miles per gallon. A warm engine will use less gas—plus, arranging your stops can reduce the overall distance you travel. Since you’re planning ahead, you might even invite a friend along and reduce traffic, too. Go you!
• Time is Money!
  Sitting in rush hour traffic is more than just annoying–it’s expensive! Even in a reasonably fuel efficient vehicle, idling knocks you down to ZERO miles per gallon. Flexing your travel times keeps you out of those bumper to bumper lines. You’ll spend less on gas and arrive less stressed.
• Get the Lead Out… of Your Shoe!
  Driving the speed limit not only saves your life–it will save you money, too! Passenger vehicles, regardless of make and model, show a rapid drop in fuel efficiency at speeds over 60 mph. In fact, each 5mph over that mark is like paying an extra $0.24 per gallon for gas! All in favor of keeping your money—raise your right foot.

For more money-saving ideas about transportation, keep watching our website or call toll-free 1-888-454-7433 for Commuter Services of North Florida.

Efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have placed a lot of emphasis on the importance of hybrid automobiles. Since automobiles account for the majority of mobile source emissions, the emphasis seems well-placed. However, a recent article on Yahoo! Green by Lori Bongiorno rightfully points out ways in which driving a hybrid is no more green than driving any other car.

Hybrid and electric automobiles do, in fact, reduce carbon emissions, but sometimes, what you drive is less important than how much you drive. Even if every American household switched to a hybrid automobile, it would do nothing to curtail traffic congestion. Traffic congestion, in turn, increases public demand for more roadways which, if built, can have a significant environmental impact. Furthermore, as some experts have noted, new roadway construction can lead to worse congestion and potentially worse environmental degradation.

Commuter Services of North Florida helps people reduce their dependence on personal automobiles. Locally, many agencies are working on policies that encourage bicycling, walking, carpooling, and public transit as part of an overall transportation planning strategy. In doing so, we can begin to maximize the capacity of our existing roadways. This lessens the financial burden on already-strapped federal, state, and local governments to build additional roadways.

Certainly, no one should be dissuaded from purchasing a hybrid or electric vehicle. But perhaps, as Ms. Bongiorno’s article illustrates, it’s how you use it that determines whether or not it’s green. If you purchase a hybrid and carpool with your spouse or neighbor, the rewards are even sweeter.