News: Denver launches "Driving change" program to increase efficiency

[MetroMPG]

Via GCC:

The City of Denver, Colorado is undertaking a new program to show participants the impact their driving habits have on efficiency (as measured by CO2 production).

The official goal of the program will sound ridiculous to everybody here:

Driving Change is the world’s first pilot project to determine if there is a direct, measurable, positive correlation between driving behavior and CO2 emissions.

Hmm... I wonder what the answer will be...

Fortunately, they think they already know the answer. Sheesh:

What outcome is expected?
Driving Change wants to demonstrate how you could easily reduce your vehicle’s carbon footprint up to 20% by identifying aggressive driving styles and helping you modify your behavior. This, in turn, will also lead to reduced fuel expense and consumption.

The most interesting part of the program is the vehicle data is streamed from the vehicle via a wireless modem to a server. So the data can be tracked, compiled and accessed by the drivers.

It's a free program.

Anybody in Denver want to join up?

[H4MM3R]

Wow! The is a cool program.

[Lazarus]

That's pretty interesting. I bet it comes to my city when it does I'll sign up. I like this part.

Driving Change considers idling as a vehicle that is not moving, as
opposed to being in stop and go traffic. Because the ratio of idle time to
fuel consumption is 8 fluid ounces of fuel for every 5 minutes of idle
time3, the excess amount of fuel consumed and CO2 emitted will be
directly calculated. The idle time score will be based upon the number of
minutes of idle time per hour vehicle operation.

[s2man]

ah, but only the pilot program is free. They're hoping folks will pay for it if the users see good results.

BTW, I posted this in General Discussion today. Feel free do delete my post, Admin's. I swear, I did a search first... Should have known I couldn't beat Darin to the punch

[RH77]

At least it's an official Scientific Study with a hypothesis...

It may seem like a big "DUH", but if done properly, it could carry some weight as a pilot program with supporting data -- and thus be attrative to other municipalities. One concern -- it's co-Sponsored by an oil and gas conglomerate

I would normally say that people would turn a blind eye to such a program, but anymore, this may be a hot topic. Especially in Denver where air quality is a big concern, due to its geographic design as a large "bowl" of airborne contaminants.

RH77