It is early in the morning, and you wake up before your alarm can. School is about to start on this sunny day, and after getting ready, complete with breakfast and all, you head out. Rather than planning and driving yourself to work, you take an Uber POOL, an Uber with a cheaper fare that is shared with others heading the same direction.
Your car works, but you know that carpooling is the eco-friendly option. This is the reality for 21-year-old business major Keith Harris.
“I grew up green,” Harris said. “My family always emphasized the importance of taking care of our environment, especially when I was younger. Carpooling helps, but my parents probably want me on a bicycle.”
A Gallup poll from last year has suggested that less people commute to work with cars than in the past. 85 percent of commuters drove themselves to work in 2007, while that percentage came down to 77 percent in 2018. In both years, the percentage of Americans carpooling to work remained constant at 6 percent.
The reasons for this change of commuting style varies depending on who you are talking to at De Anza College.
Nicole Cruz, 20, child development major, said she takes the VTA bus service to campus everyday. The commute to Cupertino from west San Jose is roughly 45 minutes, said Cruz, who speaks about taking the bus positively.
“It’s not as bad as people think. It gets me to where I need to go, and that’s all I care about.” Cruz stated that she doesn’t have her driver’s license, which is why she uses VTA. Even if she did have her license, however, taking the bus would still be an option to her.
“It would just be easier to [keep using VTA]. I am used to it, I wouldn’t have to sit in traffic, and it’d just be better overall, but we’ll see,” Cruz said.
Other modes of transportation reported by the Gallup poll include alternative public transportation, walking, carpooling, and bicycling, among other things. Also contributing to this shift is the emergence of Lime and Bird, the pay-to-ride electronic scooter service that has gotten very popular in California and Silicon Valley in particular.
The Gallup poll’s ultimate point is that most Americans still prefer driving for their commute. De Anza students are no exception. Once again, the reasoning differs person to person.
Kevin Calle, 23, a kinesiology major, said he commutes to De Anza from Union City every school day.
“I’m just moving around so much for both work [and] school,” Calle said. “It makes a lot of sense for me to be driving myself around. It’s efficient.”
Eric Ngo, 21, history major, shares the same sentiment, albeit with a shorter commute. “Living in Sunnyvale makes my commute easier. I don’t mind driving for the most part,” Ngo said.
Some of those who drive in their daily commutes, however, understand the adverse effects on the environment.
Miguel Barajas, a 20-year-old undeclared student, said that convenience rules all in this case.
“So many people are on the roads in this area,” Barajas said. “It might not be good for the climate, but [driving] is easier for me. I like to be in control of my commute.”
