Nina Kim

Nina Kim works in the Center for Digital Education at the Olin Business School and carpools to work daily with her husband, also a WashU employee. Nina chose to carpool for both the better parking options – WashU carpoolers have access to discounted priority parking through the Bearly Drivers permit program – and to reduce her carbon footprint. Since she and her husband started carpooling, they’ve significantly reduced their gas consumption.

Sharing the drive has also made Nina’s commute more pleasant – “it’s great to be able to drive to work with another person, makes it much more enjoyable.” It’s also made both her and her husband more aware of the environmental impact of their actions. They “are always looking for ways to cut down” on their carbon footprint.

In her mind, the biggest misconception about carpooling is that it lacks flexibility – in reality, “it’s important to remember that there are always other ways to get around” like MetroLink and MetroBus. Even in the case of an emergency, you can use WashU’s Guaranteed Ride Home program, which reimburses up to four rideshare trips home each month for registered carpool, transit, bicycle, and pedestrian commuters.

To others considering carpooling themselves, Nina recommends “find[ing] someone with a similar schedule and music tastes.”

Although Nina has recently moved and no longer carpools, she continues to commute sustainably with public transportation.