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Commuters Can Go Lean

Chris Hamilton, commuter services chief for Arlington County, and his colleagues want to help daily travelers be healthy and thrifty, so they've launched a campaign called Arlington's Car-Free Diet.

car_diet (2).jpg You can learn to lose, Web site says. (carfreediet.com)

As is evident from the name, they're encouraging people to switch their commutes to transit, walking, biking, or staying home and working from there. You can lose 2,000 pounds in a day, they say, by leaving the car in the driveway. And like all the truly great diet-creators, they don't want you to sacrifice to get results.

The commuting habits of a lifetime need not be thrown out completely: One or two days a week on the program can show results, the sponsors say.

The only thing that gets fatter is your wallet: The money savings on parking fees, car insurance, maintenance and gas. (That part I can identify with: When I worked in The Post's downtown newsroom, the idea of paying $11 to warehouse my car all day in the garage across the street started to rankle. Parking at a train station garage and taking Metrorail saved $850 a year, I calculated. This was back in 2000.)

Driving less cuts down on carbon emissions, but it may be easier for many to grasp the health improvements associated with lowering behind the wheel stress or increasing calories burned by walking -- even if it's just to and from the train station or bus stop. (Arlington was proud to be counted among the nation's most walkable communities by the American Podiatric Medical Association. The county has put homes, work places and entertainment close together and linked them with good sidewalks.)

Arlington commuter services has ways to help you car pool and car share. They'll not only work with you but also with your employer on various transit and teleworking programs.

Try their calculator to figure out how much you spend driving, how much carbon dioxide the car emits and how many calories you burn. (It's a good guess the first two will be high and the third low.) Then use the feature that lets you calculate what the differences would be if you changed your pattern for just a day or two a week, maybe taking the train or bus on one day and telecommuting on another, for example.

They'll guide you through ways to make some of those options work.

These folks also produce CommuterPage.com, which is the most useful one-stop shopping source of commuter information in the region.

By Robert Thomson  |  November 8, 2007; 8:09 AM ET
Categories:  Commuting  
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Next: This Weekend and Beyond

Comments

more people need to stay home from work, but please don't take the metro, we don't have room for you

Posted by: Anonymous | November 8, 2007 4:21 PM | Report abuse

What about teleporting? Works well for me.

Posted by: Think Different | November 8, 2007 4:34 PM | Report abuse

Car free and then expensive Metro. And then Metro will hike the fares (and mismanage the money) even more...Great.

Posted by: cleetus8 | November 8, 2007 6:33 PM | Report abuse

一颗受伤的心
中国的政府太腐败--十年毒品害人。

家里的食物中含有大量的毒品。茶瓶底有许多白色粉末，米袋里有许多黑种子等。吃过饭后，头感到疼痛。放毒品的人用毒品害人的目的是让我和家人无声无息地从地球上消失。因为他们要报复我家。 中国的政府太腐败--十年毒品害人。

一九九八年四月三十日，江苏省盐都县郭猛镇护西村四组蒋瑞志被电力捕鱼周桂平捣残左眼。我妻被害有糖尿病、癫痫病、脑梗塞。我奶奶挂水后，不能走，后说帕金森病，骨瘦如柴死。我长时间眼睛挣不开，走路要跌伤。我女儿月经不来，不让上高中。老二左胸口痛，老二丈人癌症死。姑奶奶吐血看几天死。二怀子妻癌转移死，大怀子癌症。蒋满江妻儿癌症死。我奶奶的兄弟癌症死。证人哥哥房子烧了，侄女小宝掉水缸死。我干姐姐家小宝落水死。我妻嫂跌伤一骨未接，家中三人精神病，一人看后，有阳痿。蒋瑞虎感冒看后，乙肝病发。一人感冒打药死，二人睡觉死。蒋华妻出车祸，妹妹红斑狼疮。蒋亚妻精神病。我丈人跌伤腿骨裂，走路走不动，我妻哥哥双腿站不起来。蒋瑞虎感冒看后，乙肝病发。老姨奶奶脑梗塞，三姨奶奶女儿跌伤。老二出车祸，两手腕骨碎腿断赔千元。粮棉被偷，三亩偷掉二亩。父亲不知被杨三打的什么针死。老二办不到建房执照。蒋迎中癌症，蒋竹四糖尿病。郭乃国开两刀。葛和平外公和外婆死，老太出车祸死。 中国的政府太腐败--十年毒品害人

中国的政府太腐败--十年毒品害人。

Posted by: lingiait | November 8, 2007 9:51 PM | Report abuse

在线求助
中国的政府太腐败--十年毒品害人。

家里的食物中含有大量的毒品。茶瓶底有许多白色粉末，米袋里有许多黑种子等。吃过饭后，头感到疼痛。放毒品的人用毒品害人的目的是让我和家人无声无息地从地球上消失。因为他们要报复我家。 中国的政府太腐败--十年毒品害人。

一九九八年四月三十日，江苏省盐都县郭猛镇护西村四组蒋瑞志被电力捕鱼周桂平捣残左眼。我妻被害有糖尿病、癫痫病、脑梗塞。我奶奶挂水后，不能走，后说帕金森病，骨瘦如柴死。我长时间眼睛挣不开，走路要跌伤。我女儿月经不来，不让上高中。老二左胸口痛，老二丈人癌症死。姑奶奶吐血看几天死。二怀子妻癌转移死，大怀子癌症。蒋满江妻儿癌症死。我奶奶的兄弟癌症死。证人哥哥房子烧了，侄女小宝掉水缸死。我干姐姐家小宝落水死。我妻嫂跌伤一骨未接，家中三人精神病，一人看后，有阳痿。蒋瑞虎感冒看后，乙肝病发。一人感冒打药死，二人睡觉死。蒋华妻出车祸，妹妹红斑狼疮。蒋亚妻精神病。我丈人跌伤腿骨裂，走路走不动，我妻哥哥双腿站不起来。蒋瑞虎感冒看后，乙肝病发。老姨奶奶脑梗塞，三姨奶奶女儿跌伤。老二出车祸，两手腕骨碎腿断赔千元。粮棉被偷，三亩偷掉二亩。父亲不知被杨三打的什么针死。老二办不到建房执照。蒋迎中癌症，蒋竹四糖尿病。郭乃国开两刀。葛和平外公和外婆死，老太出车祸死。 中国的政府太腐败--十年毒品害人

中国的政府太腐败--十年毒品害人。

Posted by: lingiait | November 8, 2007 9:51 PM | Report abuse

What lingiait said. And I'd like to add, all whiners should rejoice, if I was head of Metro you'd see fare hikes in dollars, not cents.

Posted by: Stick | November 9, 2007 7:48 AM | Report abuse

What lingiait said. And all the whiners should rejoice, if it was me head of Metro fare hikes would be in dollars not cents. Pay up or move out.

Posted by: Stick | November 9, 2007 7:52 AM | Report abuse

Эта китайская ерунда действительно становится надоедливой.

Posted by: Ричард | November 9, 2007 9:54 AM | Report abuse

What's up with all the foreign language characters?

Posted by: Laura | November 9, 2007 12:16 PM | Report abuse

Laura, the Russian text above your post appears to say that the Chinese-character posts are becoming really annoying. I have no idea what the Chinese stuff says, and I have to agree with the person who posted the Russian (it's posted under the name "Richard," but it wasn't me) that the Chinese stuff is annoying.

Posted by: Rich | November 9, 2007 1:40 PM | Report abuse

I found an online translation thing that claims to translate Chinese. Like most of them, it doesn't work very well, but it indicates that "lingiait" was, as I think we all suspected, posting off-topic gibberish:

"Is injured the heart
China's government too is corrupt--Ten years narcotics injure someone.
In family's food includes the massive narcotics.The tea-jar bottom has many white powder, Mi Daili has many black seeds and so on.After has eaten meal, the head feels the ache.Puts the narcotics human the goal which injures someone with the narcotics is lets me and the family member from the Earth vanishes silently.Because they must retaliate my family. China's government too is corrupt--Ten years narcotics injure someone."

Posted by: Rich | November 9, 2007 1:42 PM | Report abuse

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Posted by: Brian | November 12, 2007 12:01 PM | Report abuse

I have saved about $5000 a year by getting rid of our second car and using public transportation (bus and metro)to get around most places. I use FlexCar about twice a month, too. My work schedule is such that I go in after 9:30 and stay past 7pm. Metro is never crowded then and almost always on time. Moreover, I don't think they are raising non-rush hour rates.

Posted by: Jaydee Hanson | November 21, 2007 1:29 PM | Report abuse

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Posted by: pfrqixatc rjazb | December 13, 2007 5:08 PM | Report abuse

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Posted by: uaybdnm zretn | December 13, 2007 5:08 PM | Report abuse

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