Eish, South Africa. Life is getting expensive – for our pockets and for the planet. Last week the petrol price went up again. If that isn’t frustrating enough, we seem to be getting stuck in ever-growing traffic and congestion. This in turns adds more carbon emissions from exhaust fumes.

Perhaps it’s a good time to reconsider how we move about in our cities.

A recent internal survey among WWF staff revealed that single occupancy cars are still the most common choice. So this week we challenged our staff to explore more environmentally sustainable transport alternatives during WWF’s week-long Ecomobility Challenge.

While public transport is the norm for many South Africans, the challenge helped people in the office to talk about plans to share lifts and try other carbon-reducing options.

Nabeelah Kahn and Shaheena Links, from WWF’s Cape Town office, paired up to carpool for the week. “Usually it’s a one-man show in my car – I love to sing along to music. But this week I could belt out duets with my friend and colleague. #KaraokeSessions #EcomobilityChallenge,” says Shaheena.

Lameez Eksteen, also in Cape Town, travels from the northern suburbs to the Newlands office every day. She takes two trains to reach her destination. “It’s not only good for the environment, but good for my budget. Plus I get to read and socialise with other people,” she adds.

Natasha Jones and Asanda Mafila have been carpooling for months. They share fuel costs and get to enjoy each other’s company each day. “Carpooling not only saves me money every month, but it’s given me an opportunity to develop friendships with co-workers.”

In our day-to-day operations, WWF encourages staff to carpool to off-site meetings and offers pool cars for this purpose. In the Cape Town office, bicycles are also available for staff to zip around the area. Lefa Mareka cycles 10km to and from work each day. “It keeps me fit and is a good way to unwind after the work day,” says Lefa.

In Johannesburg, Kgaugelo Chiloane, Innocentia Modau and Tsitsi Mkombe carpool every day. They meet at a central shopping centre to park their cars before heading to the office in one. “The system works because you end up driving once or twice a week instead of five. You have company during your trip and you can sleep or catch up on some work if it’s not your turn to drive. We also save about 60% on our travel costs,” says Innocentia.

The Ecomobility Challenge has highlighted the convenience, sustainability and all-round fun of choosing sustainable transport alternatives. Over the coming months we’ll continue to inspire our staff to walk the talk and share more insights from our ecomobility efforts.

Watch this space. And say, hi, if you see our panda people on a platform, bus/taxi stop, or road near you.