The Fall 2013 Curb Your Car Week event took place the week of October 6–12, 2013. During that week, 203 residents from Brighton and Rochester registered their pledge to walk, bike, carpool, or ride the bus for at least a day as an alternative to drive their car.
Survey results
(203 registered participants; 64 reporting their results.)
- Total Miles saved: 8,020 miles!
- Gallons Saved: 279 gallons (Based on individual MPG )
- Pounds of CO2 saved: 5,301 pounds (Based on 19 lbs per gallon)
Miles saved per activity
- Carpooling: 3,563
- Biking: 1,377
- Combining trips: 977
- Telecommuting: 720
- Not going somewhere you normally go: 525
- Bus: 367
- Walking: 276
- Other (includes motorcycling): 215
Top commuters
- Carpooling: 1,115
- Biking: 213
- Combining trips: 321
- Telecommuting: 500
- Not going somewhere you normally go: 75
- Bus: 180
- Walking: 108
- Other (includes motorcycling): 150
In their own words
Curb your Car Week occurred, by chance, on a week when I was in San Francisco on business. The 30 “bus” miles [I recorded] were in fact “light rail” miles on BART. More significantly, I did not rent a car in San Francisco. I carried my folding bike on the plane / train and used it for my business transportation while in San Francisco. It was far more effective, as well as more environmentally sound, than having an automobile!
Thank you for reminding me again. It is always so easy to slip back into old habits. Down about 45 pounds from last year at this time!
Thank you for doing this. We love curbing our cars during this week and seeing how we can do it without the week running.
I carpooled with several coworkers for my recent trip to Albany for a conference. My coworker rented a hybrid vehicle for the trip. We had 3 people in the car on the way there and 4 people in the car on the way back.
My car did not leave the garage once! One of the things I have noticed about bicycle-friendly cities (Portland OR, Ottawa ON) is that there are bicycle racks everyplace. Last week I noticed there are no bike racks at Home Depot, Goodwill on Jefferson, Beers of the World, or Trader Joe’s. Henrietta is behind the curve in this area. I would think with Trader Joe’s cachet they would have bike racks. How is Brighton doing? Are there racks at 12 Corners?
Thanks for your dedication.
Thank you for getting the message out there!
We do a lot of all that stuff already so it is rather hard to figure out how many miles I saved by carpooling—if I am not driving to see the odometer—if we already combine trips and go in the shortest route possible between destinations (ie: not zigzagging across the county but going in more of a circle).
This system would be easier for me to complete if you broke it down day-by-day, then let the computer/spreadsheet do the tabulations. It would also allow you to send daily updates/reminders during the week, which from my point of view would not be unwelcome.
This is a good thing for raising awareness. I have always lived on a bus line and within walking distance of work. Thanks for your good work.
Sigh! It wasn’t a good week for this! The weather was bad, so I couldn’t ride my bike to work as often (but I biked some errands) and of course wouldn’t you know—although I took two days off from work (saving some miles)—then it turned out I had to run some other errands that HAD to be done in the car. Sigh. Sorry! 🙁
Great idea—thanks for doing this! I suggest you allow participants to print a worksheet in advance so the savings can be logged each day.
That’s a nice initiative. I go to work by bicycle more often when reminded about various benefits of doing this.
By intentionally saving mileage, I feel I have not polluted the air and caused carbon warming. Also, by economizing and not driving, I have not had to purchase extra gasoline for my vehicle.
Thanks for motivating me! I felt more inclined to curb my car after the week’s end, too!
Somehow it tends to turn out that I bike commute to work most days except for curb your car week, It’s not intentional, not sure how that happens! Anyway, it’s still a great effort (the event).
Didn’t know we were supposed to be “working” people who drive to their workplace. We’re retired and walk to places whenever we can. We also combine trips.
[What I recorded] may seem like a small amount of miles but it represents about 25% of the miles I normally drive. More importantly, it was the incentive I needed to finally ride my bike to work and back, something I have wanted to do for years! Now I intend to ride to and from work as often as my schedule (and my body) will allow. Thanks!
Rode my bike to the last day of a week-long workshop. My teammates were cheering for me when I arrived on my bike!
