Car pooling among slew of ideas to save energy

Encouraging car sharing is just one way the department is examining as Bermuda moves towards cutting its dependence on fossil fuels and improving energy efficiency.

Ms Nikolai said: “We need to take some lessons from jurisdictions which do use car pooling and see what we can do along those lines.”

Ms Nikolai said that Bermudians historically offered neighbours lifts as a matter of routine – and that the island should return to traditional ways.

She added: “There is a cultural shift required and we need to get back to where we were before.”

The department also wants to encourage people to use pedal cycles instead of gas-powered vehicles – with the railway trail being touted as a green transport corridor ideal for cycling.

Ms Nikolai said: “We have so much going for us – in a place this size, we could be using alternative types of transportation and maybe we can make people think about how they travel.

“Although we don’t have the space on the roads to widen them for cycle lanes, we do have the railway trails which people could use a lot more. They’re not well signposted at the moment and we can look at the barriers to make them more cycle-friendly and improve the surfacing.”

Chris Worboys, an energy analyst with the department, added: “Car pooling can potentially have a big impact on congestion – and we are trying to encourage people to use pedal cycles.”

He added: “We all know so many people in Bermuda that car pooling is something we could adopt quite easily.  We’re also talking to the police to improve enforcement on the roads. If the roads are safer, it will encourage people to use them more. We want to make life easier for cyclists.”

He added: “We also have a lot of motorcycles and they use an awful lot less fuel as well.”

Mr Worboys added that cycle racks attached to buses would also make it easier for people to get around the island using a mix of transport types.

The department also wants to see more fuel-efficient cars on the roads, with clear information on fuel consumption in the showrooms, as well as clearer energy use labeling on domestic appliances likes fridges and washing machines.

Ms Nikolai said: “We tend to buy what’s cheapest and what’s actually here – that’s not always the best way to get the most efficient appliance or car.

“We have to start thinking ‘How much will it cost to power these things over their lifetime?’. We are aiming for some accuracy of information from the retailers.

“Even with regard to fuel consumption, a lot of people have no idea how many miles their car does to the gallon.

“One of the things we’re looking at is not so much the amount of traffic, but the efficiency of vehicles in the traffic. We’re going to try and introduce efficiency standards for vehicles coming into the country. Hopefully, we’re going to see a trend towards efficiency.

“We want to try and encourage people to buy vehicles which are going to be affordable to run five or ten years into the future.”

She said: “People are already asking about electric and hybrid cars in showrooms, so there is demand out there for them.”

Jeane Nikolai  said: “You can see that coming down the pike here, but what we face in Bermuda is a disposal issue, but we’re working on that as well. It’s about getting into the public consciousness that CFLs are better than the old incandescents.”

Among other green measures promoted in the White Paper are a commitment to ensure that 30 per cent of energy on the island is generated from renewable sources like wave, wind and solar power by 2020.

The paper also commits Government to creating special development zones for large scale renewable energy generation — which could pave the way for schemes like a  solar energy farm on a disused runway at the airport.

The department also wants to see energy audits of Government buildings to ensure efficient use of power.

Ms Nikolai said: “Government doesn’t own all its buildings at the moment and it can’t put money into a private building. But we can look at low cost or no cost measures like habit changes – things like retro fits on lighting and even things as simple as switching lights off when they’re not needed. Light sensors will dim lights or brighten them, depending on circumstances. It’s a combination of small things and large things.

“If I’m not mistaken, the larger hotel groups have energy managers. Energy management is part of the bottom line and that’s something we haven’t looked at much. It’s time we moved in that direction.”