Christmastime is a time for festivities and activities whether visiting family and friends, going shopping, visiting markets or to the Panto or maybe having a go at ice-skating.
Transport is one of the highest contributors to Greenhouse Gas Emissions, so it matters what choices we make to get around. Petrol and diesel are scarce resources and when burned they have major environmental impacts. In Ireland, transport contributes over 20% of our total greenhouse gas emissions with the private car the largest contributor to that. Manufacture of cars also uses a lot of energy and materials.
Many of us have a bit more time over the holidays and can therefore plan our journeys a bit better in advance to make them less impactful. Creating some new habits over the season can last into the New Year.
Active Travel
It’s all too easy in the dark cold weather to use the car for every journey even the very short distance ones. Try switching to active travel for just a few of these.
We are eating a bit more as we meet up for the Christmas parties and indulge in extra treats so a good way to work the excess off is to walk or cycle for some of our visits or activities. The slower attentive time a walk or cycle gives, allows you to enjoy the natural beauty of the winter, the more stark shapes of the trees, the river, the birds from far and near and as its dark so early on a cold dry day the dramatic sunsets and the stars in the night sky.
With the time over Christmas a good exercise is to list your regular car journeys whether to work, to the gym or pool, to meet friends or go to the cinema. Decide on a few you could walk or cycle. Aim to substitute at least one car journey per week with active travel and start the habit over the holidays so you figure out the best route for you.
Do you have an old bike stored away in the garage that just needs tyres pumped and a dusting down? If not, check if you can avail of the Cycle to Work scheme through your workplace – see Bike to Work or Cycle Scheme.
Another option is to become a member of the public bike scheme in Cork City, www.bikeshare.ie to use when in the city. It’s only €10 a year so a good investment.
If you haven’t cycled for years, consider joining a local casual cycling group on a ride to build your confidence. In Cork there are groups like An Óige and Cork Cycling Festival, and many rides during Bike Week.
Public Transport
The bus and train services have improved significantly in most parts of Cork in recent years. More frequent buses and trains and an expanded local link service means that there are more options for a lot more of our journeys.
Taking a train or bus can be much less stressful than driving, you can use the time to read, go online or relax and you don’t have to find or pay for a parking space. By using public transport you are making a significant difference to energy use, pollution and traffic congestion.
- Decide from the list of regular journeys that you’ve already made, which one or two you can switch to public transport. If you have to drive, consider using Park and Ride services.
- Regular commuter tickets are available for public transport and with tax saver options you can save even more money.
- Leap cards can streamline journeys and also save you money.
- At this time of year we may be visiting relatives and friends further afield, it’s useful to use the National Journey Planner – for those more infrequent trips as services are improving and changing constantly.
Drive efficiently
If you do have to drive then changing the way you drive is the easiest way to affect your fuel consumption. An aggressive driving style can use 12% more fuel than an defensive and energy aware driving style and keeping between 80-90 kph when in top gear will help you use fuel more efficiently.
These actions will also save you money on repairs as there will be less strain on the car. If your car looks set to idle for more than 30 seconds (traffic lights, etc.) it is more efficient to turn the engine off. If you have taken the next action of getting the car serviced there should be very little delay in it re-starting. See also eco driving advice from the AA.
If you have two cars, then use the most efficient one as the first choice and ask if the second car is needed. Another option may be to use car sharing services like Go Car, Drive You or Enterprise Car Club.
Regular servicing
- 90% of badly polluting vehicles can be re-tuned in only 15 minutes.
- Even if your vehicle is not badly polluting, by having it serviced regularly you will reduce its pollution by making it run more efficiently, saving you money on fuel and repairs.
- Poorly aligned wheels, badly adjusted brakes and poor engine lubrication all contribute to higher fuel usage and repair bills.
Use a tyre gauge
Under-inflated tyres can add 4% to your fuel consumption. The air gauges on garage forecourts are often very inaccurate and so it makes sense to have your own.
Keep your car aerodynamic
Did you ever try walking or cycling against the wind? It takes much more energy! Modern cars are designed using computers to create less wind resistance but this can be disrupted by the way we use the car.
Check that you are not carrying heavy, unnecessary items around in the boot of your car. For example, if you need tools for work, take them out at the weekends. If you need golf clubs at the weekend, take them out during the week.
Petrol is almost as heavy as water. You can safely keep the tank between ¼ and ½ full – just keep an eye on the gauge!
Share lifts
When you share a lift with someone else instead of taking one car each, you halve the use of our scarce petrol which means you halve the pollution caused. You also halve the wear and tear on your cars, halve your fuel bill, reduce the need for parking spaces and reduce traffic congestion. Also one of you gets to relax by not having to drive! 64% of car journeys in Ireland are driver only. (2021)
One activity for the holidays might be to calculate the true cost of owning your car including replacing it. The AA has some useful figures.
What lifestyle changes would you need to make in order to not own a car, or if you currently are a two car household, how feasible would it be to just run one car and do other journeys more sustainably?
This Christmas try out alternative ways to travel to your favourite festive get-togethers and activities – it could just be the start of getting around in a more active way in 2025 and contributing to meeting our climate targets!
