Metromile: New Driving Hack to Save Money & CO2 Emissions

Although I’ve been digging my car-free life, the memory of everyday driving commute is still very clear in my mind. And there are days I miss the advantages of 2 wheels: namely when I’m running super late or visiting my parents in the suburbs.

But beyond the traffic, parking and everyday CO2 emissions, cars can be expensive. My car was quite pricey — even after I had paid off my car. The gas, tolls, random body work. And another huge cost? The insurance.

When I moved into the city, my insurance jumped from $85 to almost $145/month. However, I rarely drove my car outside of commuting to the office – taking public transit or biking when I was in the city. (Who wants to spend more time searching for parking than necessary?)

So why should you pay for insurance around the clock when you’re not using your car regularly? There’s a new app in town to address this scenario and can save you — BIG time.

Metromile

Metromile is a new model that charges a per-mile rate for insurance. This means if you’re not driving your car, you’re not paying for insurance as it’s just sitting there – making it perfect for urban drivers.

Plus, Metromile comes with an app to help you save additional cash and carbon emissions.

How does Metromile work?

Revolutionizing the auto insurance world with a pay-per-mile model, Metromile drivers only pay a few cents per mile with a low base rate each month for full coverage. Just think: you don’t pay for your lights and electricity when you’re not using them, so why would you waste additional cash on insurance?

Metromile is perfect for those city folk (or public transit commuters) who drive less than 10,000 miles a year since the typical customer saves nearly $500 annually.

Plus, Metromile provides smart technology via the Metromile App to give drivers visibility into their cars’ general health and usages, such as driving stats, engine health, and car location. It’s even been used to recover stolen cars! Metromile Pulse unlocks prescriptive advice to make smarter decisions about daily driving (because lower speeds save money AND CO2 emissions).

Another advantage for us sustainability lovers? The environmental perks of the service are huge. Studies show that per-mile drivers drive 6% less than drivers with traditional insurance. (And when car pollution is a huge problem, every bit counts.)

Metromile: Sustainability Perks

If everyone adopted these habits and drove only 6% less, the whole USA would:

• Drive 150 billion fewer miles
• Save $6 billion on road maintenance & $26 billion in accident-related costs
• 60 million metric tons less of CO2 emissions.

Find out how much you can save with Metromile

Get a free quote at metromile.com to see how much you could save with Metromile.

Currently, only seven states have Metromile. Lucky for you fine readers, PA & New Jersey are two of the states (others include California, Washington, Oregon, Virginia, and Illinois.)

Readers, have you tried Metromile? If not, would you consider this app? Tell us in the comments.

*The average Metromile base rate is $45-50 and per mile rate is 5-7 cents per mile)