Car Use

    In attempting to reduce the amount of trips taken by Single Occupancy Vehicles (SOVs), the Town of Chapel Hill should suggest and provide incentives for equally convenient alternatives to conventional automobile transit.  Realizing that cars will remain to be a significant mode of transportation for residents of Chapel Hill, we suggest the following models as more efficient alternatives to current policies.

Hybrid cars

    Currently only a few hybrid cars exist in the US market; however as gasoline prices rise and petroleum becomes ever scarcer, the move toward fuel efficient vehicles is more necessary than ever. Hybrid cars incorporate an electric engine with a gas engine and can nearly double fuel efficiency without compromising horsepower or towing capacity. The Honda Civic Hybrid 4 cylinder automatic can achieve 47 miles per gallon in the city whereas the traditional Honda Civic 4 cylinder car only achieves 37 mpg.  If the Town of Chapel Hill were to replace all its service vehicles (policy dept, fire dept, sanitation, buses, etc) with hybrid cars like the Civic, each car would emit one metric ton less CO2 per year.  Besides the possibility of reducing CO2 emissions by hundreds of metric tons, the Town of Chapel Hill could also cut the amount of money spent on gasoline nearly in half since hybrid cars rely on much less fuel than traditional models.  The environmental and cost benefits provide great incentives to progress toward these cleaner models.

    Not only could Chapel Hill replace its city-owned vehicles with hybrids, it could also publicize and provide incentives for its citizens to make the same conversion.  Without altering any part of their daily routine, the citizens of Chapel Hill could make great strides toward 60% carbon reductions in a matter of years.

Learn how a hybrid car works!
Emissions reduction and fuel efficiency of hybrid vehicles

For a study of hybrid cars at Dartmouth College see here.

Smart Cars

    Smart Cars are especially compact cars that have been used in Europe for several years. On average, they get 60 miles per gallon of gasoline. This is nearly three times the fuel efficiency of the average vehicle on the road in the United States. Of course, such smart cars are less spacious and often only have two seats, but the majority of all trips made are single occupant. For those citizens intent on maintaining their SOV, the use of smart cars could theoretically reduce their carbon emissions by two-thirds, or 66%, therefore achieving the desired 60% reduction rate of CRed in one portion of the transportation sector.  The Town of Chapel Hill’s publicizing and providing incentives for these Smart Cars, would be a big step toward breaking with inefficient, conventional modes of transportation.

Efficiency and safety of smart cars

Car Sharing

    Car sharing programs aim to use automobiles more efficiently by having a network of users who pay a monthly access fee for the ability to check out the collectively owned cars in the car-sharing network. They pay an hourly and/or mileage fee for actual use. The ZipCar program began in 2004 at UNC providing preferred and reserved parking spaces on campus for the ZipCar. We suggest that the Town of Chapel Hill create a similar car-sharing program and encourage car-sharing in offices and neighborhoods.

UNC ZipCar program

Other car sharing networks and companies:
FlexCar
CarSharing.net

Carpooling

    The Triangle Transit Authority already has a carpooling network for the area. Especially helpful is the online carpool matching system through RideShareNC. Publicity and incentives such as better parking and carpool lanes would encourage efficient use of the automobiles on the road.

Vanpooling

    The Triangle Transit Authority also has a vanpool service for the area.   According to their website, TTA provides the van, pays for gas and insurance; and arranges, oversees, and pays for all maintenance. Riders pay a low monthly fare based on the average daily round-trip mileage. The Town of Chapel Hill could encourage the use of this service by subsidizing or entirely paying this rider fee.

Preferred Parking Incentives

    The Town of Chapel Hill could also provide preferred parking for alternative fuel vehicles and carpool vehicles to encourage their use. Since parking is somewhat competitive in Chapel Hill and on the UNC campus, these incentives could make great strides toward more efficient transportation alternatives.