Travel, Transport and Sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Travel, Transport and Sustainability - Essay Example One can ensure that they keep their vehicles properly maintained. It is a common scenario to see heavy soot coming out of exhaust pipes of some vehicles while others do not have such emissions. The reason for the formerly mentioned observation is because such cars have been improperly maintained and their car filters are at fault. If simple adjustments like that can be made, then fewer carbon imprints will be left and transportation can be considered sustainable. Individuals should also purchase and use vehicles that require less fuel. There are car models that take up too much fuel despite a number of distances traveled. In line with this, there are also other models that require a high minimum amount of fuel for them to start moving. Such cars should be avoided in the bid to make transport sustainable. Most four wheel drives and large vehicles fall under this category. Consumers should try to purchase vehicles that are electric hybrids. These types of vehicles have been known to reduce fuel use by about half the amount used by other types of vehicles. Drivers should also adjust the kind of routes used in their daily travels. This means that people should master all the routes leading to a certain destination and choose the most cost effective or the shortest one. This adjustment can be made by careful planning on the drivers’ part. Drivers should also avoid routes that are characterized by heavy traffic jams. If these are the only routes available, then users can try passing through the place earlier or later than usual to minimize on fuel wastage. se on fuel wastage. Air conditioning in vehicles is another heavy fuel user. Zero Waste New Zealand Trust (2006) establishes that one can be economise about ten percent of fuel usage if they do not use air conditioning. A simple but cleaner way of achieving the same result would be pulling down the windows on one's automobile. Another economical way of travelling is by avoiding personal cars. If almost every individual in the country uses a personal car, then more fuel is consumed and the country will have a large output of carbon emissions. Alternatives to the use of personal cars include: Use of public transport Walking Biking Using school buses rather than personally driving the children to school. Walking is one of the most efficient means of saving fuel because studies have shown that all other modes of transport aren't. Taking the example of a vehicle that uses petrol or diesel. Three quarters of the fuel is lost as heat, about nineteen percent is used to rise above inertia of the car material used and only one percent is used to