Car Pools Take Off

November 5, 2007

On any given weekday afternoon in Burlington’s Hill Section, a long line of motorists will edge, inch by inch, toward a parking lot exit. Most of those commuters are alone in their cars.

At the shift change at Fletcher Allen Health Care, a more lively procession parallels this paralysis: Dozens of carpoolers swoop through the drop-off and pick-up circle in an impromptu choreography.

Carpoolers share a commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Their concerns are well-founded: A 2005 study by the Montpelier-based Vermont Public Interest Research and Education Fund calculated that the 8 percent of Vermont’s car commuters who travel more than 20 miles to work generate roughly a quarter of the state’s commuting-related carbon dioxide emissions.

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