Do you know Yahoo offers commuting benefits for employees who organize carpools, ride bikes to work and take company shuttles to and from offices? Yahoo rewards these commuters with free lunches, massages, movie tickets, and other benefits. Yahoo even hired a “employee transportation coordinator” to come up with more incentives.
In this time of concern over global warming and rising gas prices, it’s good to see a large company like Yahoo offering employees incentives for being being green conscious commuters.
Commuters around the country are dusting off their old two-wheelers — or buying new ones — to cope with rising fuel prices, bicycle dealers say.
I have been a cyclist for years and have enjoyed the many benefits bicycling. At first I was a recreational cyclist, then I became a bit competitive and gave grief to those poser types with all the high end equipment and snobbery which went with it. Then I started commuting as a way to increase my fitness level and weekly mileage, in doing so I began to bicycle for more utilitarian uses. I now own a mountain bike, a very nice and speedy commuter bike, a carbon fiber racing bike, and I have my old road bike mounted on an indoor trainer. My only dilemma now is which bike do I ride?
I have been off my bikes for some time due to an auto accident and I am finally attempting to ride pass the inconvenience of pain. Getting back in shape over the next couple of weeks will be long, but worth it. Not just in gas savings, but in health benefits. I have diabetes and riding makes it so I can eat most foods without worrying about the adverse effect of extra carbohydrates. It is also a great stress reliever and puts my mind in a great place. Part of the great place will be the joy I feel when I pass a gas station knowing I am contributing to a gas company’s billions in profits.
If know you are polluting the environment by driving your car does not motivate you to do something, then how about money?
I like math and seeing how the numbers impact my world and the world around me. Everyone thinks the EPA estimate on the window of that new car means something. So let me introduced you to the Miles Per Dollar calculator, where you can calculate how many miles you can drive for each dollar of gasoline you consume. Better yet calculate in how much money you will by not driving to work and instead using alternative transportation.
Now after doing the math you will literally know how far your dollar is taking you.
TriMet is Portland Oregon’s public transit system and they have stated they are addressing the issue of security on it’s system. What are they doing to accomplish this? Well, if you have been riding their MAX trains, you should have noticed the Wackenhut security guards. But have you paid attention to what the guards actually do? Most of the time they walk around aimlessly, report broken ticket machines and graffiti. Have you ever seen them confront a menacing individual or make eye contact with that person who looks like a thug? Have you observed them riding in the rear train car at night? I bet the answer is no to all of the questions. So much for making the system safer!
And what kind of people do they hire? I don’t know, but the Wackenhut guards you see in the video below were guarding our nuclear power plants while sleeping on the job. If that is the kind of personnel Wackenhut hires to guard the countries power plants, I can only imagine the quality of individual they hire to guard the people of Portland who use the TriMet transit system.
Looks like TriMet found another way to piss away our money.
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