Sustainable Transport and Travel
Eco-drive Tips
Did you know that by making some small adjustments to how you drive you can reduce your emissions, improve air quality and save money. Transport was responsible for 21.4% of Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions in 2023, so making adjustments to how you drive could make a real difference.
Eco-driving is a method of driving a vehicle with the goal of using less fuel and having less of an impact on the environment.
Benefits of eco-driving include:
- Lower fuel use and costs
- Reduced exhaust emissions
- Reduced vehicle wear
- Increased safety
Here are some eco-drive tips to help you save money and the planet:
- If you’re stopped for a period of time turn your engine off. 30 seconds is the magic number where leaving the car running will burn more fuel than turning it off and starting again.
- Don’t wait around after starting your engine, move off once the engine is running!
- If you’re on the motorway and your car has cruise control, use it during dry conditions! Maintaining a constant speed on an extended trip is the best way to conserve energy.
- Slow down – even a 10km/h reduction on your motorway cruising speed can improve fuel efficiency by up to 18%.
- Avoid sudden braking or rapid acceleration, keep things smooth and steady
- Leave a large gap between you and the car in front for a better chance of anticipating when to slow down.
- Time your approach to red traffic lights by slowing down to avoid stopping completely.
- Check your route before you head off, nothing wastes fuel like getting lost!
- Try to time your journeys to avoid heavy traffic. You could help reduce collective CO2 emissions by 1.4 Million tonnes annually by avoiding being idle in your car for just three minutes every day.
- Combine short trips into one journey. Starting your engine from cold uses far more fuel.
- Eliminate unnecessary use of your car. If you’re making a short journey, could you walk or cycle instead?
- Empty the back seat and the boot – any added weight means added fuel usage!
- Remove bike racks and roof boxes you don’t need. On top of the weight, they also make your car less aerodynamic.
- Make sure your car is well maintained and regularly serviced.
- At low speeds, air-conditioning uses up fuel- open your windows instead. At higher speeds the opposite is true, open windows will create drag so air con is a better choice.
- Cut down on your electrics, only use seat heaters, demister fans and other such features when you need to.
- If it’s an icy morning, defrost your windshield and windows using a scraper and de-ice rather than warming the car up.
- Check your tyre pressure. Tyres 10% below the recommended pressure increase fuel consumption by around 2% and make your engine work harder.
Smarter Travel Workplace
Smarter Travel Workplaces is a public awareness programme working with large employers to implement voluntary workplace travel plans. A growing number of Irish employers are engaging in Smarter Travel, working with their employees to facilitate travel choice in favour of more sustainable transport, resulting in reduced costs, enhanced employee wellbeing, better access and more effective parking management.
Mayo County Council is a Smarter Travel Workplace and take parts in many national initiatives including Bike Week, European Mobility Week and Walktober with 2019 showing our best engagement so far including 94 staff participating in Walktober up from 0 in 2018.
Sustainable Transport and Electric Vehicles
Mayo County Council procured two Electric Vans in late 2018 and installed 6 EV charge in staff carparks to enable staff to choose electric vehicles in 2019. We also have three staff bicycles to use for short journeys instead of taking the car and in September 2019 together, with LECo, we launched Irelands first Electric Community bike.
Greenways
In 2019 Mayo County Council extended its Greenway Network and secured new funding to complete the Clew Bay Greenway. This will provide 80km of greenways in Mayo, the largest network in Ireland.