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Greening Your Modes of Transportation

Give your CO2-factory-on-wheels a rest and take these alternative rides for a spin.

Friday Apr 06, 2007.     By Julia Steinberger

Lifestyle Feed

Welcome to our planet-friendly Green Chicago City Guide.

With a friend like your car, who needs enemies? Our beloved personal vehicles not only pollute, they also turn would-be free time into stressful traffic time, tempt us away from outdoors and exercise and harbor a boundless appetite for our hard-earned cash. Luckily, Chicago's got plenty of solutions to get you where you need to go, minus the drive. Give these easy alternatives a try, and you may break your car habit enough to sell that CO2-factory-on-wheels.

Bike
It's now even easier to see the scenery, slim your figure and speed past the suckers sitting in traffic: This year marks the installation of 125 miles of signage that offer biker-friendly facts like the safest streets for cycling and distances to popular destinations. Hop on your bike with this handy map and follow the 100-plus miles of bike lanes throughout the city.

Whether it's sunny or snowy, urban pedaling is easier and safer than you might think, especially with a friendly shop in nearly every 'hood and 73 CTA stations equipped with indoor racks. If you're interested in buying a bike, you'll find a solid selection of used bikes at Working Bikes Co-op, Uptown Bikes or Craigslist; for about $300, you can buy a decent hybrid or mountain bike brand new at places like Play It Again Sports.

When you're not up for weaving through the concrete jungle, head for one of these recreational paths to restore your peace of mind. Find official city info like (examples) at ChicagoBikes.org, and connect with your fellow roadsters via clubs, initiatives and events sponsored by the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation.

CTA
Did you know that commuters in ultra-congested northeastern Illinois spend an average 62 hours stuck in traffic every year, according to the Regional Transportation Authority of Northeastern Illinois? If you're turned off by the idea of waiting on the platform, get in the habit of checking TripPlanner, which lets you pinpoint your destination and the train/bus arrival times within a few minutes.

True, travel times are a sore subject right now, with the Brown and Red lines minus one of their four tracks, so build in extra time or take the bus, unless you can rearrange your schedule to avoid rush hour. But, with all the extra hours not spent staring at the car in front of you (or paying at the pump), you can finally finish that book you've been meaning to read or catch up on your iTunes. And instead of hopping in a cab on the weekend, hop on the L and treat yourself to a top-shelf drink with the cash you saved. Hit up a new stop, and you might just find something cool.

Car Sharing
Dump the insurance payments, the body shop and just about every other auto-induced headache when you opt for car-sharing, a Euro-born solution for urbanites who only need wheels once in a while. Car-sharing networks charge members an annual fee for access to a fleet of vehicles parked in lots across the city.

Chicago currently has two networks: I-GO, which costs $75 to join and $25 to renew annually, and ZipCar, which has a $25 one-time application fee plus $50 annually. You reserve a vehicle by phone or online, and pay for your drive time.

Add 50 cents per mile to I-GO's $6/hour rate for the cost of gas; otherwise you can opt for the $8.25/hour plan, which includes 50 free miles before the gas charge applies. While ZipCar's hourly $9 exceeds I-GO's by a few bucks, you'll get 125 free miles before you start having to fork over cash for your fuel. You can also take Zipcars for $66/day, an option you don't have with I-GO. Do note that keeping an I-GO between midnight and 6 a.m. is free, so if you've got some odd jobs in the middle of the night, you'll get some serious bang for your buck. If you use the car regularly or want to share it with your family or business, both networks offer discounted plans (for I-GO, check here and ZipCar here), which include an allowance of hours and miles for a flat monthly rate. If you don't need your car for work and drive less than 7,500 miles in a year, car-sharing is almost guaranteed to save you money…as long as you can handle the pre-planning.

Carbon Offsetting
Eco-celebs Al Gore and Laurie David preach that we should reduce fuel consumption, but the (inconvenient) truth is, they still globe-hop in cars and jets to spread the message. Their answer? They purchase carbon credits to offset the emissions generated by their travel, thus becoming "carbon-neutral."

Since most of us aren't ready to give up our high-energy means of transport entirely, third-party sites like TerraPass, Carbonfund.org and DriveNeutral.org allow users to offset the amount of carbon emissions our activities create by purchasing proportional amounts of "carbon credits." In general, you're paying a set price per metric ton of your carbon emissions (ranging anywhere from $4-$40, depending on the site), which you can calculate on the aforementioned website. The money spent on credits is invested in green-energy projects, from wind-power initiatives to tree planting to methane energy harvesting. A local note: Many off-setter organizations work through the Chicago Climate Exchange, headquartered right in the Loop at 190 S. La Salle Street, to match funds with green business initiatives.

Consider, though, that while buying credits will help develop new technology and send an important message about consumer demand for green energy, it doesn't actually physically remove your emissions from the air. A great one-two punch: Cut back where you can, then offset the rest.