The Many Benefits to Being TravelSmart
Being TravelSmart means different things to different people. It could be choosing to walk to the mall rather than driving. It could be taking the SeaBus for a fun outing with the grandkids. Or it could be ride-sharing with friends to an event.
Simply put, TravelSmart is about choosing travel options that bring the greatest benefits to you, your community and our environment. Whether you commit to walking more, increasing the number of times you travel by transit, or simply decreasing how often you drive, you can easily incorporate TravelSmart options into your life.
Make Walking Part of Your Active Lifestyle
Metro Vancouver is consistently regarded as Canada's most walkable city, with generally easy access to walk to shops, banks, schools and transit hubs. By adding just a few short walking trips to your overall travel plans you can stay in shape, lose weight, lower blood pressure and reduce cholesterol. Walking also reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety, improving overall mental well-being. And by walking just 3kms a day instead of driving, you can personally prevent 730 pounds of CO2 from entering the atmosphere!
An easy way to become more TravelSmart is to use the many services of public transit.
Incorporate Transit Into Your Routine
An easy way to become more TravelSmart is to use the many services of public transit. Buses, SeaBus and SkyTrain and West Coast Express rapid transit offer affordable, fast and convenient alternatives to driving. Avoid the stress of dealing with traffic, bad drivers and finding parking! Using transit also ties into health, as you increase your opportunities to walk when you get out of the car, while also reducing the amount of pollution you are exposed to.
Make Your Car More Efficient
If you're buying a new car, pick the smartest option - one that offers the best gas mileage for the type of driving you'll be doing, city or highway. If you're happy with your car, make sure to drive smart. Keep your tires properly inflated, your engine in tune and use the right oil. All of these improve your car's fuel efficiency and help reduce harmful emissions. Avoiding rush hour, unnecessary idling or repeatedly circling parking lots help to reduce gas guzzling and your impact on the environment. And whenever possible, consider combining errands to reduce the number of trips out and back home, or ride-share with family or friends.
How TravelSmart Makes A Difference
Being TravelSmart doesn't always have to mean huge changes. Minor adjustments to your daily travel can result in surprising health and financial benefits, as well as reducing your personal impact on the environment - for our communities today, as well as those of the future.
- Save money: By not taking your car out as much, you'll save on maintenance, gas and parking. And if you take transit, there are different passes you may qualify for that save even more money on your fare.
- Feel great: By walking more, you'll enjoy a wide range of health benefits:
- Reduce body weight and build and maintain healthy bones, muscles and joints
- Improve balance, strength and endurance
- Reduce blood pressure if you already have high blood pressure
- Reduce feelings of anxiety and depression
- Increase emotional and mental well-being
- Explore: By incorporating active transportation into your day, you can reconnect and may be introduced to different areas of your community - or neighbours - you'd never otherwise see if you were just driving a direct route.
- Ease traffic congestion: By not taking your car - at least not every day - you help reduce traffic, noise and pollution in your neighbourhood.
- Reduce road accidents: By reducing the amount of cars in your community, you can dramatically decrease the number of road incidents.
- Help save lives: By helping to improve air quality you could help prevent one of the 15-150 deaths that occur every year in Metro Vancouver, due to air pollution.
Consider this: If every Canadian left their car at home just one day a week, we'd save about 3.8 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year – the equivalent of taking about 800,000 cars off the road!
Do you have benefits, experiences or stories to share about being TravelSmart? Leave a comment below to help other seniors become more TravelSmart.