Tips for Your Car-Free Diet

Trip Chaining

What if you could do your grocery shopping, pick up your dry cleaning, drop the kids off at soccer practice, and pick up your prescription all at once?  You may not be able to do all these activities in one spot but you can do them all in one trip.  Trip chaining is a great way to combine all your errands into one trip and benefit the environment at the same time.  Trip chaining is also a great way to keep up your Car Lite Diet by running all your errands in just one trip.   If only all diets were as easy as the Car Free and Car Lite Diet!  Here are some more great ways to make trip chaining happen for you: 

1) Plan ahead.  Take a moment to plan out your route and think about what else you might need to get done.

2) Make a list.  Think about everything you need and get it all done at once. Eliminate that last-minute trip to the store.

3) Find the most efficient route.  There are a number of Internet sites that can help you plan the shortest, most efficient route. GPS receivers can also help you plot the best route.

4) Try making only right turns.  United Parcel Service (UPS) experts have determined that left turns tend to take more time and waste more gas than right turns because drivers often have to wait for traffic and/or the light to change.

5) Avoid backtracking.  Doubling back creates needless travel that can be avoided by following a more efficient, pre-planned route and using a list so you get everything you need.

6) Combine errands.  Do you need to pick up your dry cleaning today? Why not pick it up tomorrow when you go grocery shopping? Try combining errands into just one trip.

7) Use closer stores.  Explore your neighborhood shops. Try walking to lunch at the bistro down the street instead of driving to one farther away.

8) Group your appointments together.  If both of your kids need to go to the dentist, make it just one trip!

9) Consider one-stop shopping.  Many stores and shopping centers may offer you the opportunity to get all of your errands done in just one stop.

10) Count the time and money you save!  You can print out these tips or visit www.carfreediet.com to learn more. 

Contact Arlington Transportation Partners today at solutions@transpartners.com or 703.247.9299 and find out how we make transportation simple!