I’ve thought about taking my bike on the bus for months, but worried about being “that person” who held up the bus with her inability to understand how to get the bike on the rack. When I saw a Metro bus parked at Sawyer Point for Earth Day this year, I took the opportunity to practice loading and unloading my bike on the front of it while it was parked. It was simpler than I ever imagined. The helpful Metro staffer even practiced putting on the pressure to build my confidence. Still, simple.

Has it been a while since you’ve been on the bus? Metro is giving you a chance this Friday to get re-acquainted with the bus. This Friday (August 22) from 11:00am to 1:30pm, a Metro bus will be parked on Fountain Square.

Try the bike rack, look over the bus schedules, or practice nabbing your favorite seat!

On a recent trip to Columbus, we saw this elaborate contraption at a truck stop.

Turns out, this is a great way for trucking companies to save money and in the process help reduce carbon emissions which contribute to global warming.

In the past, most truckers in the summer or winter left their trucks idling so that they could take advantage of air conditioning or heat in the cab while they rested on long journeys. With gasoline at $4 a gallon, that habit isn’t a very smart one for their business profits.

The system shown in the picture above, provides heat and a/c to trucks in the lot saving gasoline, saving wear and tear on the vehicles from constant idling, and reducing both air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions.

This particular service is provided by a company called IdleAire, and according to their website visits by truckers has resulted in:

conserving over 15 million gallons of fuel and eliminating over 360 million pounds of diesel emissions, mostly carbon dioxide

The technology is out there to help us both reduce our dependency on foreign oil supplies and help cut back on carbon emissions, it just takes people willing to find business models that work. Have an idea you think will help the “green” economy of our area? Get out there and do it.

With gas at $4 a gallon it isn’t surprising that motorcycle sales are up and that more people are using them to commute to work. However, a new article in the LA Times claims that motorcycles and scooters are bigger air polluters than Hummers (smog producers that is).

The other bad news about motorcycles is that they carry with them a higher number of deaths per million miles traveled in the US than cars and trucks. This is particularly of concern in Ohio where there isn’t a mandated helmet law.

More bang for your buck

Now before you write off the motorcycle and scooter for good, let’s talk about what motorcycles and scooters do have going for them.

Because of their size and weight, motorcycles and scooters:

• are approximately twice as fuel efficient as a car or truck
• cost a lot less
• use less resources to produce
• create less CO2 - the greenhouse gas that causes global warming - then larger vehicles

What to look for when you buy

You’ve decided that you have a commute that is ideal for owning a motorcycle or scooter, or you live in a the perfect neighborhood for scooting to the store and back. When you visit some of the great scooter stores in Cincinnati, make sure to ask a few questions.

• Ask if the scooter or motorcycle meets EPA standards - or the even stricter guidelines for models in California called CARB
• Ask if they carry any models with catalytic converters

According to the EPA, with the surging demand for scooters in the US, importers are bringing in sub-standard products that do not meet EPA guidelines. Make sure you buy from reputable dealers and ask to see the EPA sticker for the scooter. Any scooter with an engine over 50cc is required to have them.

Consider all the factors

For those of us who are more safety conscious, a motorcycle is probably not the best idea, but for many this may be a viable economic option. Keep a few things in mind if you do get one.

• Purchase a full-face helmet and heavily padded jacket
• Always wear long pants, gloves and boots when riding
• Take a motorcycle safety class

Wear your helmet

My former home state of Florida lifted their mandatory helmet law in 2000 and according to an article in the American Journal of Public Health, the state saw a 48.6% increase in motorcycle occupant deaths the year after the law changed.

After suddenly falling off my bicycle a few years ago and hitting my helmeted head on the concrete, it reinforced the need to keep the helmet on at all times. Instead of a couple of bruises, I could have been in the hospital. Now imagine going 25 to 65 mph. Enough said.

Currently, anyone over the age of 17 has the choice to wear a helmet in the state of Ohio. Regardless of the law, Live Green Cincinnati encourages everyone to wear a helmet whether biking, scooting or motorcycling your way around the tri-state.

Local Scooter Stores

Now, here are few stores in town where we suggest you start your search for the perfect scooter:

Metro Scooter

Midwest Powersports

Good luck, enjoy the road and be safe!

For more information:

EPA Scooter Alert

LA Times - Motorcycles and Emissions: The Surprising Facts

American Journal of Public Health

Live Green Cincinnati is all about ways to stand out from the crowd of green-wannabees by searching out real local options that work. Recently one that had been on the back of my mind for a while whizzed right past.

The Flying Pig Courier Service is truly a safe, efficient, and environmentally preferable way to get that package to the client. When your delivery arrives via bike messenger versus the standard drab brown delivery, it will make an impression. Might this be the tipping point that convinces your potential customer to use your business for their next sustainable product marketing campaign?

Want to bike it over yourself but don’t own any wheels? Campus Cyclery in Clifton offers a bicycle rental service called Cincinnati Bicycle Rentals. You can take the metro right up the hill from downtown and coast back down in style on your borrowed bike, right into the hearts of your clients. Heck, bring an extra bike for them and talk business over the wind while you ride around on the riverfront. Just don’t forget the helmet!

Traffic congestion got you down? Why not slug it out? Slugging is a phenomenon already popular in nightmare traffic cities like Washington D.C. Never heard of it? Neither had I until I watched the G Word on the Planet Green TV channel and read an article on NPR about it in the same week.

Basically slugging is car-pooling with strangers. People form lines at popular bus stations between 5-8am and 3-6pm. The drivers pull up, call out where they’re going, and pick-up passengers going their way. Why do it? In seriously congested cities like D.C., there is a HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lane that moves 2-4 times faster than the general interstate traffic. A driver who picks up a slug or two at the bus station can make it to work in 30 minutes instead of 90. A slug who scores a ride makes as good or better time than the bus and rides for free. People are motivated by saving time and money, but little do they all know that they are keeping cars off the road and working to save the environment.

There are some interesting social rules for slugging, like when to talk and what to discuss. I’m sure the drivers take a gamble on what kind of Cracker Jack Prize they pick up, but in the history of slugging, there have been no reports of trouble or crime.

Recently, the Cincinnati metro ranked 33rd for metro traffic congestion, with southbound I-75 at Freeman Ave making the list as the worst traffic problem in Ohio. Cincinnati has experimented with allowing bus traffic only on the highway shoulder during rush hour, maybe it’s time to discuss an HOV lane on the most congested interstates around the city. The Park and Ride stops would make excellent slugging points. The Enquirer reported this week that local Ride Share and public transit ridership are up and that the bus transit system is looking to expand with partnerships. The stars are aligning. There’s no need to drive alone when you can carpool, ride share, take mass transit, or try slugging!

It’s easy math to discern that driving to work 4 days a week instead of 5 will conserve fuel and save you a few bucks. It can be a lot harder trying to justify a change in work schedule with your manager…unless your employer is environmentally-conscious enough to offer you the opportunity or even an incentive to drive less.

Recently, UC announced that they are allowing full-time employees to work four 10-hour days instead of five 8-hour days during the summer quarter in order to reduce the University’s impact on the environment. The flexible summer hours pilot project should reduce vehicle emissions and fuel consumption for commuting by 20%.

Could this be one of those business win-win situations? Save on facility costs by sending everyone home on a Friday and increase your retention rates by giving your employees a flexible work schedule option.

Other companies have offered subsidized bus passes for employees taking public transportation or preferential parking for car-poolers. Technology based companies in the area equip employees with a laptop so that they can work in a home office or co-locate all their interns or out of town visitors in one location so that they can use a shuttle bus to get to the office.

It’s smart to reward people for doing the right thing for the business and the right thing for the planet. Does your place of employment offer any environmentally-considerate employee perks?

Expensive gas = tighter budget. Tighter budget = looking for ways to cut spending. Ways to cut spending = driving less. I always knew all that math I took in high school and college would come in handy someday.

Alternative commutes are on the rise. To reward those of you making a lifestyle change (whether it’s financially or environmentally motivated, it’s still good), Live Green Cincinnati is dedicating some new slogans to you.

• Scooter commuters are cuter. (Plus they have fun and they save cash.)
• Bike commuters are less gassy. (And they have great legs.)
• Riding the bus is boss. (And you can roll home without road rage.)

Hooray to you, alternative commuters. Keep up the good work!

Metro has introduced a lot of inventive and successful programs over the past year or so including wi-fi, the online trip planner, and free rides for college students.  There’s more to look forward to as well.  Metro is asking for your opinions and ideas on their service.  Take the online survey here.

If you haven’t already, please take the Live Green Cincinnati survey as well.  Remember that we are donating 50 cents for each completed survey to the Cincinnati Parks Foundation.  Thanks!

Want to learn some driving habits that can maximize your miles per gallon? Join the next Northern Kentucky Hypermiling club this weekend. At the last meeting, one driver won the MPG contest in a Prius by attaining 175 MPG on a trial course.

All are welcome! Check out the details on our Live Green Cincinnati events page.

Carol Coletta of Smart City was recently the guest blogger on the Soapbox Cincinnati website. Her second post mentioned that a huge way to decrease pollution and climate change in a city is to reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT). The average individual currently drives 12,000 miles per year. Carol suggests that an ideal goal for VMT in a modern city is 3,900 miles per year.

But what can be done to create an adequate incentive to encourage Cincinnatians to reduce their annual automobile driving miles by more than two-thirds?

An effort of this magnitude would have to be powerfully supported and encompass the participation of the entire county. We have a few ideas to start the brainstorming:

1. Massive contests. Perhaps the government can ask individuals to register their current odometer numbers in conjunction with renewing your auto tags. When your annual renewal comes up the next year, turn in your new mileage counter and be entered into a drawing to win a gas card. Any individual who drives 5000 miles or less in that one year is entered to win a new (highly fuel-efficient) car.
2. Tiered individual incentives. Individuals who wish to participate agree to visit an official booth once every 6 months to have their odometer mileage recorded. For each visit that you reduce your annual VMT or stay below the 5000 annual miles threshold, you receive a gift (Reds tickets, gas card, free vanity plate, or a donation made in your name to Ohio Wildlife). If after 3 years you have reduced your VMT by 2/3, you are entered into a drawing to win a major prize (a new fuel efficient car, a $5000 tax credit, or a free bus pass for life).

Any other ideas?