Climate Action Toolkit

Smart Transportation

ACTIONS: 5-1 thru 5-7

Write your awesome label here.

Key Resources

Read Part 2 of the Resilient Neighborhoods Handbook covering Smart Transportation and explore the Toolkit sections below to choose the actions you will take and learn how to take them.

Marin Commutes

Earn rewards when you green your commute with Marin Commutes.

Videos

- Marin Commutes: Plan Your Trips

Google Maps 

Get directions for different travel modes, including walking, biking, and transit here.


Electric/ Clean Vehicle Incentives

- PLUGSTAR's vehicle comparison tool 

Smart Transportation: Actions 5-1 thru 5-7

​Easy - Get Started Now (5 minutes to 1 hour)

​Click the (+/-) sign next to the action number to (view/ hide) the information for that action.

Action 5-1 . Reduce the miles your household drives by a minimum of 20% in a year

  • Use the RN Handbook and Marin Commutes website to explore your travel options and strategies. Make a plan. Try it out!

GREEN YOUR COMMUTE
Explore the Marin Commutes website to discover alternative travel options in Marin:
  • Earn up to $500 per year by commuting green! The Marin Commutes Rewards program allows anyone who lives or works in Marin County to earn up to $500 per year for logging eligible green trips. Wherever you’re going, you’ll be able to earn rewards for walking, biking, taking transit, carpooling, and vanpooling—even working from home! And you can log non-work-related green trips as well - like to the grocery store, a restaurant, the hardware store, or a movie theater.​
  • Sign up for the Marin Commutes mailing list to learn about new travel options and to be eligible for prizes and incentives.
  • Join a carpool or vanpool and connect with people who have similar traveling patterns. 
  • The Marin Commutes Marin Emergency Ride Home (ERH) Program will reimburse you for rides home in case of emergency, such as a flat bike tire or an urgent need to return home. This is for anyone who works in Marin County and commutes by any means other than driving alone.
  • Or don't commute at all and work at home! Here are some Tips for Remote Workers.

​​
TAKE PUBLIC TRANSIT
TRANSIT TO PARKS
Marin Transit is helping everyone enjoy our federal, state, and local parks and open space- their routes will take you right to many trailheads and bike paths! Check out their Interactive Transit to Parks page to help you plan your next outdoor adventure using public transit!

BIKE OR WALK
- Choose to ride a bike or walk instead of driving 1-2 days a week. 
​- Have your child walk or bike to school and other local destinations rather than driving them. If your child has an E-Bike, please be aware of the risks. Review this article on how to prevent injuries and accidents, and things to consider when buying an E-Bike for your child.

ELECTRIC BIKES
- Check out the Ride & Drive Clean info page on E-Bikes.
- Consider checking out electric bikes at a local bike shop that specializes in them, such as The New Wheel (Larkspur), and Mad Dogs & Englishmen (Mill Valley).
- Check out the new Redwood Bikeshare program! Whether you’re running errands, visiting town, or riding recreationally, you can get a pay-as-you-go ebike and cruise Sonoma and Marin counties!
- Watch this helpful video on what to consider when buying an electric bike.​​

Action 5-2. Adopt fuel-efficient driving habits or drive in EcoMode

If you have a gas car, here are some tips to save fuel. (Also see this link from the US Department of Energy):
  • Choose your most fuel-efficient vehicle to drive.
  • Maintain a steady speed. Using cruise control can help.
  • Slow down. 55 mph is the most fuel-efficient freeway speed. Exceeding that uses more energy.
  • Anticipate stops and slowdowns on city streets and gradually reduce your speed. Some EVs have regenerative braking that slows the car and recharges the battery without using the brake pedal. 
  • Turn off the engine - limit idling! Vehicles manufactured after 2000 consume more fuel idling for over 15 seconds than by turning the engine off and restarting it. Ideal situations to practice this include waiting at a long stoplight, dropping off a family member at school, or sitting in a lengthy drive-thru line at a fast-food restaurant.
  • Dump the excess weight. Every extra 100 lbs. in your car costs 1% of fuel efficiency.

    If you have an EV, it is still important to drive efficiently to save energy. Here's an article to understand how driving efficiently is somewhat different for EVs.


Action 5-3. Get regular maintenance of your vehicles

- For gas cars, here is a gas car maintenance guide.
- For EVs, here is a car maintenance guide.

Action 5-4. Cancel air travel by one trip this year

Air travel often wipes out a very low carbon footprint. There are alternatives to flying! Check out this article on the emissions from various forms of travel. And here are tips to reduce your flight emissions. (Travel lighter, fly direct, fly economy, choose your airline carefully, use your local airport, offset your flight (see Action 5-5).)

If you must fly: You can now see carbon emissions estimates when you search on Google Flights, based on the airline, plane, seat, and other factors. You can use a filter to search for "less emissions."

Action 5-5. Purchase travel or carbon offsets

Remember, it's almost always best to find other ways of transport (especially for short flights!). But if you have no other choice, you might want to consider carbon offsets. While these do not erase emissions, they do help fund worthwhile projects to reduce emissions or sequester carbon. Make sure to use a reputable company. We recommend:

- Terrapass: Certified by 1) The Gold Standard, 2) Verra, 3) the Climate Action Reserve, or 4) American Carbon Registry. These standards require that offsets be real, permanent, quantifiable, never double-counted or double-sold, and independently verified. 

- Cool Effect: Cool Effect is a Marin-based organization. Certified by 1) The Gold Standard, 2) Verra, or 3) the Climate Action Reserve. Cool Effect does a deep due diligence on all projects to determine which projects are worth your support. They evaluate the implementation of the methodology and confirm that the project uses the majority of the proceeds from carbon for growth and not profit. Note: Metric tons: 1 ton = 2,205 lbs.

Vehicle Choices:

​Get advice, test your ride, learn about incentives, make your decision.​

Action 5-6 & 5-7. Buy or lease an Electric Vehicle ( Battery Electric Vehicle- BEV or Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle- PHEV)

For this action on your Action Plan, you can pledge to get an EV within 1 year (Action 5-6) or 2 years (Action 5-7).
Visit Ride and Drive Clean to learn more about purchasing and leasing EVs.

Resources to help you find the best electric vehicle for you within your budget:
 - Use PLUGSTAR's vehicle comparison tool to evaluate vehicle features, cost, and incentives based on your personal criteria.
- Attend one of Ride and Drive Clean's frequent online events to learn more about the models available and to get your questions answered: "Electrify Your Ride" Webinars. 
- Review Ride and Drive Clean's EV New Buyer Checklist and EV Buying & Driving Guide.​
- Charging locations: Website: Plug Share; App: ChargePoint

Not sure if you should give up your gas vehicle for an EV? 
​- Check out this VICE article that addresses the issue: Is It Good for the Environment to Replace My Used Car With an Electric Vehicle?
- You might also want to LISTEN to this podcast- "Are Electric Cars Really Better for the Climate?"
- EPA's Electric Vehicle Myths: learn about common misconceptions about electric vehicles. ​

Electric Vehicles: Rebates & Incentives

NEW Electric Vehicle Incentives

1) Retire Your Gas Car for $$$. Clean Cars for All offers up to $12,000 to retire your gas vehicle 2007 or older if you are income-qualified. You can replace your gas car with a new or used plug-in hybrid, battery electric vehicle, or hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle, an e-bike, or a pre-paid card for public transit. Watch this webinar here to learn more about this program. Does your gas car fail the smog test? You still get up to $2,000 if you retire it through the Consumer Assistance Program.
2) **MCE Instant Rebate offers up to $3,500 if you are income-qualified. **Currently not accepting applications. You may submit your email for the Waitlist. Rebates expected in Summer 2026. 
3) Sign up for the Ride and Drive Clean EV Discount Campaign, which they run several times per year. 
4) Dealers. The dealers also provide cash/finance discounts at varying amounts. There are great leasing deals available.

PRE-OWNED Electric Vehicle Incentives

Exciting deals on pre-owned electric vehicles (EVs) are now available! eMotion Autos can help you find a used EV that meets your needs. They have access to wholesale cars that the general public cannot access. They will ask you to focus the search on one specific vehicle model, with a second model as a backup option. Alternatively, you can search on websites like TrueCar to find used models at local dealerships and purchase one independently.

REBATES AND INCENTIVES
1) PGE Pre-Owned EV Rebate offers a $1,000-$4,000 rebate based on income. (Cannot be stacked with the MCE Instant rebate).
2) **MCE Instant Rebate offers up to $2,000 if you are income-qualified. (Cannot be stacked with the PGE rebate). **Currently not accepting applications. You may submit your email for the Waitlist. Rebates expected in Summer 2026. 
3) Ride Drive Clean's Pre-owned EV Campaign. Ride Drive Clean periodically offers special deals on buying a pre-owned EV. Sign up for notifications. 

Additional Info for Electric Vehicle Buyers

1) Ride Drive Clean Buying Guide: This guide answers most questions you may have about selecting and charging an EV.
2) Do I Need to Buy A Charging System? Most people do not need to install a charging system and can plug right into the wall (see the guide above for more info). However, if you do need a Level 2 charger, the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Tax Credit covers 30% of the cost of your home charger and installation, up to $1,000. This credit sunsets on June 30, 2026.
3) Lower electricity rates. If you have an EV, you can change to MCE's residential EV rate (EV2). This lowers your energy costs if you charge your EV and use electricity during off-peak times of the day when rates are lower. EV2 rates apply to your household’s entire electricity usage, not only to your EV charging
4) MCE Sync. Earn a $50 Sign-up Bonus and $10 per month cash back by getting the MCE Sync app to help you automate your EV charging at home to use the least expensive and cleanest energy on the grid. The average EV driver can save up to $160 or more annually with MCE Sync.

Incentives to Retire Your Gas Car

1) Retire Your Gas Car for $$$. Clean Cars for All offers up to $12,000 to retire your gas vehicle 2007 or older if you are income-qualified. You can replace your gas car with a new or used plug-in hybrid, battery electric vehicle, or hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle, an e-bike, or a pre-paid card for public transit. Watch this video to learn more.

2) Does your gas car fail the SMOG test? You may be eligible for up to $2,000 to retire your car through the Consumer Assistance Program. Learn more here.
Created with