Don’t eco warriors drive you up the wall?

This is something I hear quite a lot within my friendship circles and indeed I do tend to agree that the greens amongst us are usually the most irritating. It comes as no surprise though that as time as moved on that the greens of our population probably were right and we all should take a little bit more interested in their rants about ecological stuff.

It’s great to think that for me being green (since I flew the nest) became actually something which made a load of sense:

• Regimentation of my dustbins – each dustbin must be filled with the appropriate filling
• Cleaning things for recycling – cans, plastic food wrappers, folding newspapers etc.
• Not owning a car – I live in a fairly well ‘connected’ city and using public transport just makes sense.

Now we all have things which we hate doing. Take for example the commute to work. Thankfully, my commute is fairly brief and even if I did own a car, it would make simply no sense to drive it down the road and look for a parking space. The cost of parking is ridiculous in my city and I imagine for many of you it’s the same.

In summary: Owning a car in my city is a complete waste of time and money.

However, If I do decide to ‘need’ a car (this is very infrequently), I have several options. The most obvious of which being Public Transport. Which, frankly if I am going anywhere, further away than a shopping trip in the city? Is probably the most frustrating task one could possible put themselves through.

Instead, I tend to find the most readily available method for travel in my own city is using a local car club vehicle hire service. Be this green or not, it is probably the most eco-friendly method for transportation

Why?

• The Savings on Petrol are great – I only pay for what I use
• The Car’s are available for pick-up not far from where I live
• It impacts congestion in a positive way – I only use when I really need to.
• Cost is minimal – no bank loan required for the fancy motor you have always wanted. For me this is a Ford Ka.
• Vehicle Size – I get a vehicle fit for purpose with little extras to worry about.
• I can simply use it for what I need and give it back – No Road Tax, MOTs and Insurance Policies needing to be sorted out.

All in all the benefits to using a rental service really transcend into living a much more ‘green’ lifestyle. If you can adapt the way you live your life, watch how your ‘carbon footprint’ goes down, and the smug grin on your face gets bigger by the day….

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