Transportation

Driving is the number one thing the Californians do to emit greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

What Can I Do?

Drive Less. Take public transit, carpool, or choose to walk or bike to places that are closer to home when you have an option.
Drive Efficiently. Choose a car with high MPG when you're buying, or increase your car's fuel efficiency (see "Drive Smart" below and find tips at Fueleconomy.gov)
Use Other Fuels. Hybrids run partially on electricity. There are also fully electric cars and cars that run on biodiesel, which can be made from waste vegetable oil.

BART & Tri-Delta

Take public transit and you eliminate your driving emissions. With BART and Tri-delta, you can get to almost anywhere you need to go. Plan your customized commute using public transit:

511.org’s Trip Planner tool
(En Español)

Worried about missing the bus?

Tri Delta Transit now has accurate Real Time bus arrival information on their website, www.trideltatransit.com, or on your smartphone at www.trideltatransit.com/mobile.

Transit and Trails

Transit and Trails connects you to parks and open spaces by helping you Find, Plan, and Share your outdoor adventures. You can locate trailheads near you (or any Bay Area location) and Transit and Trails helps you get there on public transportation or get the directions you need to walk, bike, or drive there. You might try one of the many existing trips on the site or make a new one. green cell phone

Plan your trip at www.transitandtrails.org or with the FREE iphone or android app on your smartphone!

Walk or Bicycle Biking to work

Stay healthy through daily exercise while you get where you're going. Walking or biking can be good for your heart, help you lose weight, reduce your stress, and even improve your problem solving skills.

Did you know that according to AAA it cost ~$7800/year to operate a car and only ~$120 for a bike? Thats a huge savings on top of your health and environmental benefits.

Don't know how to get around? Its easy! Check out the Pittsburg Bike Map available for pick up at Bay Area Bikes in downtown Pittsburg. It has current and future paths, bike friendly streets, and points of interest around town.

There are bike racks, turtles and lockers available in various locations around town including the library, downtown and most shopping centers to keep your bike locked up and safe while you shop, dine, or enjoy the town. For bike locker locations visit www.bikelink.org.

511 Contra Costa Logo Interested in biking around other locations in the bay area? 511 Contra Costa's got all the information you need to create your own map and directions with their interactive Bike Mapper!

Carpool

If you carpool with one other person you take one car off the road, which cuts your driving emissions in half! (Carpool with three or four people, and cut your emissions by 60 – 75%).

Get Rewarded for Carpooling
511 Contra Costa offers rewards and incentives for carpooling and vanpooling. Carpoolers could win $100 in grocery gift cards or an ipod shuffle and vanpoolers could win $500 worth of gas. To find out more or to register check out their Carpool Commuter Rewards page or the Vanpool Commuter Rewards page.

Find a Carpool Match to Where You Need to Go
Find a match using 511contracosta.org’s Rideshare tool
(En Español)

Buying a New Vehicle?

Go for higher MPG vehicles

In general, hybrids and smaller cars burn less gasoline per mile driven. Even between cars that are the same size, MPGs can differ greatly between different brands and models. Click here to see which vehicles are among the "greenest" in 2012 (provided by greenercars.org)

Even a small difference in MPG rating can mean a big difference in your gasoline costs. For example, compare a 20 MPG vehicle with a 25 MPG vehicle:

MPG	20	25
Greenhouse Gases (tons CO2e per year)	5.5	4.4
Gasoline (gallons per year)	600	480
Cost ($ per year)	$1,500	$1,200

By choosing the 25 MPG car over the 20 MPG car, you would save $300 a year, one ton of greenhouse gas emissions,and 8 trips to the gas station.

Be sure to note that most cars have two separate MPG ratings: One for City Driving, and another for Highway. Think about which kind of driving you do most when looking at MPG numbers.

Or Avoid gas in the first place

Electric Vehicles are cleaner to drive and maintain. With new models coming out from many manufacturers in 2012 and beyond, these are becoming a viable option. Make the switch, and never use gasoline again.

Most electric vehicles have a range of 100-200 miles in between charging and with the low rate of electricity you can save a lot of money:

Car Type	Rate	Amount of "Fuel"	Price of "Fuel"	Price to Drive 100 miles
Gas Vehicle	25 mpg	4 gallons	$3.50/gallon	$14.00
Electric Vehicle	99 mpg	34kWh	$0.10/kWh	$3.40

Did you know that Pittsburg has 3 charging stations in town? There are 2 at City Hall and 1 downtown. For information about these stations and to find others around the Bay Area visit www.mychargepoint.net.

Find answers to your questions about electric vehicles at Plug In America.

PLUS! Some auto insurance companies are offering discounts for driving an alternative fuel vehicle such as Farmers Auto Insurance and Travelers Auto Insurance. Call your insurance company today and see if you can qualify!

Drive Smart

If you can’t get to where you need by public transit or carpooling, and can't buy a new car, there are still some things you can do to significantly improve your gas mileage.

Avoid "jack rabbit" starts and aggressive driving. Flooring the gas pedal not only wastes gas, it leads to drastically higher pollution rates. One second of high-powered driving can produce nearly the same volume of carbon monoxide emissions as a half hour of normal driving.

Think ahead. Try to anticipate stops and let your vehicle coast down as much as possible. Avoid the increased pollution, wasted gas, and wear on your brakes created by accelerating hard and braking hard.

Follow the speed limit. Driving 75 mph instead of 65 mph will lower your fuel economy by about 10 percent, and can dramatically increase tailpipe pollution in many vehicles.

Avoid rush hour, when possible. Stop-and-go driving burns gas and increases emissions of smog-forming pollutants. (And you avoid irritating traffic).

Combine trips. Warmed-up engines and catalysts generate much less air pollution, so combining several short trips into one can make a big difference.

Take a load off. Carrying around an extra 100 pounds reduces fuel economy by about 1 percent. Take a few moments to unload your cargo area.

Keep your tires properly inflated. Tires should be inflated to the pressure recommended for your vehicle; this information is often printed inside the door frame or in your owner's manual. For every 3 pounds below recommended pressure, fuel economy goes down by about 1 percent. Tires can lose about 1 pound of pressure in a month, so check the air pressure regularly and always before going on a long trip or carrying heavy loads. Underinflated tires can also detract from handling, safety, and how long the tires will last.

Check your own fuel economy every few weeks. (to see how many miles you can drive per gallon, you can keep track of how many miles you drove on a tank of gas, then divide that by how many gallons your tank holds, or miles ÷ gallons = MPG). If you notice it slipping, that could mean you have a minor problem with the engine or your brakes. Using this advance warning, you can fix problems before you have a breakdown on the road.