Cleaner commute: Get around Hamilton in style and offset your carbon footprint

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Published October 8, 2019 at 5:35 pm

Hamiltonians now have to option to ride in style and do their part for the environment when out and about in the city.

Hamiltonians now have to option to ride in style and do their part for the environment when out and about in the city.

For many, when thinking of Hamilton the predominant image that comes to mind is one of smokestacks and industry. Not exactly saving the earth type stuff but it is the livelihood of many of our loved ones and neighbours.

Enter Facedrive, an eco-friendly rideshare that launched in Hamilton late last year that is hoping to help offset some of the pollutants our city emits.

How it works is that a portion of all fares is donated to a program dedicated to planting trees in the communities in which Facedrive operates.

“We’ve partnered with Forest Ontario,” said Hawlar Kadir, a sales and project specialist at Facedrive. “So, for every ride taken, a portion (two per cent) of it (the fare) goes towards planting trees.”

“Planting a tree is just the beginning,” the company’s website claims. “We want all of our services to have the lowest carbon footprint possible by offsetting our emissions.”

To that end, while the rideshare employs gas-powered vehicles, the company offers further incentives for electric and hybrid car drivers.

“We incentivize our hybrid and electric drivers by offering them a higher percentage (of the fare),” Kadir said.

At the moment, the company has 20 hybrid cars on the road in our community.

Kadir says that riders in the city have really taken to the idea of helping the environment in this way.

“People really love the idea of taking a ride and helping the environment at the same time,” Kadir said.

To find out more about Facedrive visit their website or download the app.

Photo courtesy Facedrive Facebook page

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