The first savings is that of fuel. If you car pool with someone you are going to spend less on gas. It is not going to take your car hardly any more gas to drive two people to the same destination as it does to drive one. So, when you do drive it is not going to cost you anything more, and you will be able to drive far less frequently. The more people you add to your carpool rotation, the bigger savings, if you are not driving too far out of the way in order to carpool.

Let's look at some numbers to help you better understand the potential for saving by carpooling. Let's say you drive 30 miles round trip to school, work, etc. So, to make this simple, let's say you are going to carpool to work. Your work is 30 miles round trip, and your vehicle gets roughly 30 miles to the gallon. So, you use one gallon of gas each day, or the cost of your transportation to work is the cost of one gallon of fuel. So, for the sake of keeping numbers round, and making things easy, let's say the average cost of gas for the year is $3 a gallon. So, you are spending $15 a week to get to and from work each day. If you were to get a car pool going that allowed you to only drive half as much, you would save $390 a year on fuel cost. Obviously this number is not totally accurate, but you get the idea. If you split driving with someone, you also split your cost in proportion. So, if you get a three person carpool, your cost to get to work reduces by 2/3. It is an easy concept, but one many people do not recognize the value of. Instead of seeing the actual savings, they think of the inconvenience of not driving themselves.

The second savings you get from carpooling is that of less maintenance for your car. If you cut the amount you drive to and from a place you frequent by half, you will save a lot of money on the wear and tear on your car. You will be able to go longer in between replacing your tires. You will be able to go longer in between oil changes. Your car will not wear out as quickly, and this can save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.

So, by carpooling, you can effectively save several hundred dollars a year on fuel expenses, several hundred on maintenance and repairs, you will get benefits like driving in the carpool lane on the freeway, and you will be doing your part to help save the planet, clean up the environment, and make the air cleaner and easier to breathe.