A Winning Solution For Global Warming - 'Cabie Car'

It will help BUT you may have some serious legal consequences.

or even safety factors, I would not even consider carpooling with strangers who may not even have manners.

o.k. who spilled the coffee......

its not worth it.

Yes, many potential problems can be named...

Carpooling and ride -sharing all have problems. Insurance companies have (probably state-mandated) exceptions to their policies which allow you to drive your private vehicle in a carpool or ride-sharing plan in which the costs are reimbursed by the other riders (and in which you are not doing this as a means of income).

I foresee the possibility of having prospective riders apply through an agency or service which checks their backgrounds and then lists them on their site and/or gives them identity cards. Now the risks of giving a ride to a "stranger" are reduced.

Similarly, the local laws establishing the taxi services can readily have paragraphs added which define a carpooling or ride-sharing plan such as has been described, and then exempt it from the licensing and fee paying provisions of a commercial taxi operator. Such laws could also limit the maximum compensation a rider can be asked to pay to a given percentage of the standard rates for deducting transportation costs from income when figuring taxes due to the government.

Further, parking garages in congested areas can have spaces in preferential locations assigned or reserved for those who are carpooling or ride-sharing, probably on a first-come first-served basis, with unused spaces becoming available for general use after a specified time of day.

Why not pursue this? The existing physical infrastructure (cars, drivers, potential passengers) is already in place. The transportation paths are already in place, many with special lanes for this type of use. The legal precedent with exemptions to insurance restrictions, etc. is already well tried. The communication and management is considerably easier than many other routine uses of the internet or similar devices.

Yes... I think the problems are all able to be resolved at much less cost than most other forms of mass-transit. It won't be the ideal solution we may have to face when availability of fossil fuels becomes much more difficult than at present, but as an interim approach it sounds cost-effective and time-effective to me.

---JMM

What this means is: the instant you as a driver sell a ride share to any stranger you are operating a taxi cab...without a license. And in most cities/towns, big and small, licenses are not available to be had--at least not without very deep pockets and the right downtown connections. Furthermore, cities (and their police) have a very great interest in protecting the income of their taxicab concessions. So selling rides is something best left to minors...because they will not be deemed fully culpable under the law if they get caught....

Certainly, in my city I can see lots of big cars filling the streets whith just one people inside each of them, and that seems not reasonable. However, that cabie solution has problems, and some have been pointed out in the posts. Maybe other solutions involving some organization with people you know is better, and environmentally/economically worthy. Of course this is not for every case and requires adequate consideration of many different circumstances, but would be nice to get some more of this into our culture I think. Good luck, anyway.

I've been lift-sharing for a while. Thought it was time to do something positive, the amin impact hasbeen the loss of a decent tax offset. So much for being green.

And no I didn't sign anything or get a pre-nup. Let's get back to being fair, reasonable inhabitants of a small place.

What I want to see/get involved in is a proper system of above-ground rail (e.g. monorail) system. Surely it has to be cheaper than these enormous roads with their vast appetite for land, maintenance, disasterous drainage consequences and just about every disadvantage? Even wildlife would benefit hugely.

Hi Wrenched, Here is some food for thought! A recent report from Leicester university about energy saving produced this data: Energy saving projects on an average three three bedroom terraced house range from "fIve years" for cavity wall insulation to more than "twohundred years" for solar heating before it pays for it's self. Those installing double glazing face a "124 years", while an energy efficent condensing boiler could take "38 years". Loft insulation, "13 years". Given that the average housholder only spends 16 years at any given property, this is a no-go. Spencer.

Prior to WWII, most major cities in the USA has streetcars as a part of the public transportation system. Some of the more sprawling cities have light rail that used the railroad lines to ferry workers and shoppers from outlying areas to the downtown areas. With the war and with the lobbying of the oil companies to create more demand for their then cheap and abundant fuels, the electric powered public transportation was replaced with fossil fuel powered vehicles. As an added incentive to make the switch, all of the then unused rail tracks were uprooted to make tanks and ships to fight the war.

Today, one of the cities who made the switch, Houston, Texas, is now, and at very high cost, laying down light rain tracks to reinstate the electric powered public transportation. As one might guess, too, a lot of politics is involved in the routing and type(s) of equipment. Some is the "not in my back yard", some is "the services is too far from my neighborhood, my maid and yard man cannot get to my home", some is "Who will reimburse me me for my losses when my business is shut down during construction", and some is "I want credit and a cut in the pie for me (political and financial greed)".

All in all, changes are coming for us all and with the advances in engineering not withstanding, it seems that history is repeating itself, also. Let us hope that this time we learn our lessons and observe what history has to teach us. More power to the Engineer, may he make our lives a bit more livable.

Hi ch,

Except for the $$ aspect, he's just proposing what has already been proposed years ago: a plea for car pooling! Obviously it hasn't caught on like the powers that be hoped it would. Not even the ever increasing cost of motor fuel has had any serious impact.

I suspect the "Johnnie Cab" of Terminator fame may eventually come about. The legal ramifications... who knows. Probably not more of a problem that current taxi cabs, except that "Johnnie" wouldn't worry about being shot in a dark alley.

Should "Johnnie Cab" be autonomous, or just run on some pre-programmed routes, like current city bus services do?

I find this posting interesting. A good thing happening about the internet is the platform it offers for creative ideas. I visited cabiecar.com and feel that it has some creative ideas, but the concept has not yet caught on. I remember in the mid 90's when I listed my first item on ebay, it did not sell and I wondered it such an idea would ever take off. I also had a chance to view some amazing deals on ebay at that time and was even afraid of thinking of bidding on an item because of the fear of sending money to a stranger without even having a physical look at the product or even worse, not knowing who you are paying the money to. Today the ebay concept has cought on like wild fires and i was surprised to read the figures of the number of people who have internet at home wanting to buy product online without even seeing the product or knowing to whome they are paying to. It is accepted today and I think transport sharing will catch on in the years to come.

Now, to make this concept to work, you must approach the people who has acces to funds. Advertising or press releases will work. Legal hastles need to be sorted out. Who says buying on Ebay does not have its share of legal problems. The government has still not come up with a way to resolve tax collection issues with regards to online sales. Car pooling is not a business, it must be regarded as a way to fill an empty space for a reward. It reduces the number of cars on the road and thereby contributes to reduction of pollution. If the government is "The People" as democracy dictates, I dont see a problem in making changes to the rule if the concept picks up. Ask Al Gore to take this up seriously!!

As regards to safety, living in fear is a domain for the week. A few years ago, it was not even possible to think of paying someone without seeing a product and without knowing the person, Today, most online transactions is between strangers for unseen products. Yes, a few are rip offs but most have a very good experience!!! Please, let go of fears, and a good feedback system should take care of this. I save a bundle buying online. Just yesterday, I bought a LCD monitor for $65!! brand new in box!! which store sells them at that price?? I dont know the buyer nor have I seen the product and just like the 1GB ram I bought a month ago, I am confident I will have a good product at a cheap price, bought from a total stranger, a product I have not even seen!!

If the concept of car share takes off, I think it will be a lot cheaper to travel, the number of cars on the road will go down (Just look at the diamond lanes which are free during rush hours, just look at the line ups of single driver driven cars!!). Also, I can see the huge potential if the concept takes off and it may help if the name is changed from cabiecar to something more to the taste of a common man, cabie car sounds like a taxi service.

The first remedy presented for global warming is the use of renewable energies such as solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy and bio-gas.

The second solution of global warming lies on human being because their actions are great contributor to pollution. Humans should develop self discipline, should learn energy conservation for these could also reduce global warming.

We therefore need to increase awareness of the benefits of a low carbon society, which adopts a localized, low energy and sustainable lifestyle.

We need to make a conscious effort as individuals to adapt and change our lifestyle, shifting from one which is highly technological, and consumer driven, to an era of low energy, localized resource sourcing, stimulated by the need to reduce our carbon footprint to counteract the threat of global warming.

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