NPower PA

Week One:

Changing how we think about getting around is not going to be easy, but the NPower team is committed to this challenge for May. Being a consulting firm, our technicians are out at client sites for most of the day and rely heavily on personal cars. We are excited to be able to use this opportunity to pilot using car sharing and transit to see how it impacts our travel costs for the month. This change will also help us reduce our environmental footprint.

Most of us now have our key fobs for PhillyCarShare and have figured out how to exchange a TransPass for a zoned TrailPass at the SEPTA window. We discovered a little known fact that the TrailPass works on the airport train even though the airport is zone 5 – that’ll come in handy when a few of us fly for a trip later this month.

I also did a little research about the car pods near us. They seem fairly available during the day. If this trial works out, we may look into a dedicated vehicle during business hours so that our technicians have 1st access to it.

Week Two:

Our technicians realize the increasing cost of gas impacts the costs we incur as an organization, but they are also feeling the pinch in their own wallets. Even though they are reimbursed for driving expenses, they still have to pay for gas out-of-pocket and wait to get their expense check. PhillyCarShare cuts out this step in this process, and saves on their out of pocket costs, by including a gas card in all their cars.

This concept is so unbelievable to some of our consultants that it has to be repeated to be believed. Just today Ebony – our Client Relations Coordinator – didn’t realize that PhillyCarShare provides a gas card to fuel up vehicles. She was heard in the office as saying, "it just kills me to pay for gas in someone else's car." When she was told that gas was included in all PhillyCarShare cars, she was excited. “I don’t need to worry about buying gas, since it's already included ! That's great!”

Ebony plans to use PhillyCarShare to visit the E. W. Rhodes Public Middle School this week in North Philadelphia. She is, in association with Girls Inc , inspiring young women in underserved communities to consider careers in technology by presenting at their career fair.

Our Executive Director, Lisa Shulock, is using PhillyCarShare for the first time today for business use. Today is a perfect example of how car sharing eliminates the need for extra cars in a family. Lisa has four meetings scheduled back to back today. With PhillyCarShare she doesn’t need to start thinking about a second car to get around for work. She can simply rent by the hour.

Until next week!

Week Three:

This week, Maura Kelly – our resident database developer – writes about using her bike to commute to the train. Enjoy!

In April of this year, I bought myself a bike. Not just any bike, but a 1970 Schwinn, single speed, shiny green with a big seat for my big heinie, which has grown exponentially over the years based on the amount of miles I have covered driving everywhere. Why did I buy it? Well, first of all, it was cool. Second of all, when I first saw it in my elderly neighbors garage, I was struck by my reaction. I felt the same emotional reaction when I saw this bicycle as I feel when I see a shiny classic car. Yeah, I am an old head, and the site of a shiny ’67 Mustang or ’68 Camaro still turns my head, sometimes all the way around! The third reason was the rising gas prices, and the exorbitant cost of running my autos.

The very week I bought my bike, my boss, Lisa Shulock, at NPower PA, approached me and asked if I wanted to participate in the Walk Ride Share Program offered for May by PhillyCarShare. Lisa is very environmentally conscious and hey, she IS my boss, so I said YES. Ride the bike to the train, walk from the train to the office! Walk or take SEPTA to any client site! I can do this! Ok, so it HAS been 30 years since I have ridden a bicycle. I have chased a few while teaching my children and grandchildren to ride. But how great is this? Put a nice basket on my bike to carry my laptop, and off I went! First few days were a little rough. Out of breath sometimes. Avoided hills til I could get back on track. But by the fifth day, I felt confident.

I am now riding my bike a LOT! The best part is that I am meeting neighbors I did not know. They say hello and I stop for a minute to chat. One of the other nice things is that I can stop whenever I want to look at a garden or a nice piece of architecture. No one is honking at me when I stop! I am also losing weight! Four pounds so far. I can see me doing this all summer. When it rains, I sometimes walk, so I can use an umbrella. But the hood on my jacket works just as well. I know that I am, in some small way, reducing my carbon footprint, and that’s nice. But I think that riding up to the market on my bike and how it brings back memories of childhood, going to the store for my mother, is unbeatable!

Week Four:

This week's post is from Sam Chenkin -- a part-time technician that balances his work at NPower with school.

"I've been using my bike as my primary means of transportation since I moved into the city. I ride it to the grocery store, to the movies, and to everything else within a 10 mile radius. It is a fantastic form of transportation, exercise, and entertainment all in one. Of course, it gets far less pleasant when temperatures are below freezing or above 90, but even these offer their own challenges and pleasures.

While I knew I would enjoy biking around the city I had not expected the enjoyment I find riding to and from work and then around the city for work. Riding to work in the morning isn't a chore, it's a joy -- a way to wake up and greet the world. Riding home from work is the best way I've found to wake back up after a long day and be ready to face the rest of the day. And riding around the city in the pursuit of my normal duties helps me remain relaxed and happy.

The city is an entirely different place by bike than by foot or car. It strikes a balance between speed and depth of experience. Going through all the little neighborhoods that make Philly such a diverse place is a blast, and one can see details that would be missed when driving -- not to mention getting across the city without 676 takes about half the time by bike than car. I think every resident should experience the city in this way.

PhillyCarShare has filled a gap in my transportation. I use it to get to clients in places I would feel unsafe biking through (primarily North Philly). I also use it on particularly large grocery trips or to move large items. That said, biking will always be my first love."

Week Five:

What a month. Between biking, and walking, and car sharing we have seen the green light and are revving to go. Maura is biking to work and losing weight in the process. Sam bikes between work and school and gets to explore new parts of the city each day. Lisa is preventing the need for a second car.

We have had a few hiccups, which we overcame. Lisa, our Executive Director, used to take the recycling from our office home each Friday via the train. Now that she is biking she can’t carry it along with her and it piled up for the month. Hopefully once our building gets recycling this will not be an issue.

Jeremy used a PhillyCarShare car last week only to realize that entering the odometer reading incorrectly at the gas pump locks the fuel card. He did figure out that PhillyCarShare reimburses drivers by check if they have a corporate account – he was a bit worried that the 40 dollars he paid at the pump would go directly back into the corporate account.

And lastly, going forward we think PhillyCarShare will work for a good amount of our workers that aren’t on site all day long. From taxis to transit and more we are committed to continually greening our consulting practice as we serve the Philly nonprofit community.