My commitment was to use public transportation and car pooling more to cut down on automobile use. The commitment was motivated by the experience we had during the pandemic where we were able to use only one car while the other was given to one of our kids so they would not be reliant on air travel while at college. We found that we could manage quite well with only one car. Fast forward 4 months and we have our second car back and I am driving more, particularly with the return to work at the office. So I was not able to lock in single car use as a habit. In retrospect, that was probably unrealistic. On the other hand, I see this as a general reflection of the cost/benefit of the pandemic from a sustainability standpoint. We learned, collectively, so much about the benefits of working at home, reducing the need for travel and transportation, and some of that will stay with us (I have no plans to attend out of town conferences, for example, and our office will retain a hybrid schedule for staff to allow more WAH flexibility). But we also need to return to the office, return to downtown, and re-connect. So the challenge going forward will be to retain as many of the lessons learned as we can as we reestablish a new normal. In my case, I do expect to bike more as a means of getting to work (when the weather warms a bit more and the snow melts), and I will replace my current car with an EV.
—Richard