Scenic beauty, summer fog and a spectacular waterfront are just some of the natural highlights of San Francisco, California. That, along with progressive citizens committed to cleaning, greening and improving energy efficiency of their surroundings, certainly contributed to the city’s reputation as an incubator for some truly innovative environmental initiatives. Fittingly, San Francisco is now a leader in environmental solutions and clean-technology businesses.

Erin Shields, Founder of Green Carpet Limousine. Photo courtesy of Green Carpet Limousine

Going Green in San Francisco’s Bay Area

In the San Francisco ground transportation industry, one local company is helping set the standard for reducing dependence on fossil fuels. Green Carpet Limousine is an alternative luxury-transportation service that caters to the entire Bay Area. Having now joined the ranks of local partners that are part of Green Path Transfers, a new global environmentally friendly transfer service, Green Carpet Limousine is ready to deliver eco-friendly San Francisco transfers to even larger numbers of passengers in the modern, comfortable and fuel-efficient cars.

“We are not simply the ‘green division’ of a large transportation company that wants to appear to be doing the right thing,” says Erin Shields, founder of the earth-conscious San Francisco car service. “We are committed to providing the most fuel-efficient vehicles available, while still creating a luxury experience. We believe that by combining first-class service with environmental responsibility, we have created the ultimate experience.”

Rolling Out the Green Carpet

Reducing carbon emissions has been an important goal for the company from the start, explains Shields. “Green Carpet was started in September of 2007 from an observation I made that corporate travellers were not being offered an alternative and more conscious option for their transportation needs.”

The staff of Green Carpet Limousine enjoys a night out on the town in San Francisco, California. Photo courtesy of Green Carpet Limousine

Filling that void, Green Carpet Limousine launched with just one vehicle, but quickly expanded to three vehicles, enjoying a very favourable response throughout the local area despite the difficut economic times. Today, the company has a steady stream of clients, including large corporate account holders and solo travellers who use the service for both work and pleasure.

Encouraging Eco-friendly Alternatives

Committed to providing an environmentally sound alternative to the traditional taxi service, Green Carpet Limousine owns and operates a fleet composed of cars capable of running on compressed natural gas and biodiesel.

Conserving energy through other smart-technology advances like regenerative breaking, Green Carpet’s Super Ultra Low-Emissions Vehicles like the Toyota Prius hybrid sedan and the luxury full-size Lexus RX 400, transport customers around town the responsible way, minimising toxic carbon emissions without sacrificing any of the comforts of luxury limo service. Travellers enjoy a smooth journey equipped with luxury amenities like satellite traffic information, GPS tracking and state-of-the-art sound systems.

Green Carpet Limousine driver Pierre awaits a client at Moffett Field, a private airbase in the Bay Area of northern California. Photo courtesy of Green Path Transfers

“San Francisco is renowned for being at the forefront of environmental issues, and it’s great to have such a proactive, forward-thinking partner as Green Carpet Limo in such an important destination,” says Adrian Cordiner, CEO of Green Path Transfers.

Riding the Green Carpet in the Bay Area and Beyond

Staffed by knowledgeable local drivers, Green Carpet Limousine delivers friendly, personalised, 24-hour service to the airport as well as to special events, meetings or anywhere a client wishes to go. The company’s service area even extends into northern California and trips are often arranged for passengers travelling to cities in Silicon Valley like Palo Alto and Menlo Park or to East Bay and Marin County destinations.

Visitors to the area should also consider Shields’ recommended destinations beyond the city proper, which include the green hills and redwoods of Carmel Valley and the beautiful waterfront of Monterey. “Napa is a popular destination as well, and our vehicles are perfect for a couple or three people max travelling to wine country.”

For more about Green Carpet Limousine, or to book environmentally friendly transfers within San Francisco and elsewhere around the globe, visit Green Path Transfers.

Laurel Angrist

A native New Yorker, Laurel Angrist is a well-practiced escape artist whose passion for travel and the outdoors has led her to some truly offbeat and interesting places. Outside her work as media consultant for the WHL Group and wordster-in-chief of The Travel Word, Laurel is a writer specialising in stories about tourism, culture and the environment, and is also pursuing a masters in Library Studies at the City University of New York. Visit her website: www.laurelangrist.com.

Other posts by Laurel:

• Hiking in Guatemala’s Mountains of the Ixil Region
• Preserving Nature in Nicaragua: Ecotourism at Morgan’s Rock Ecolodge
• Wild Asia Responsible Tourism Awards 2013 Honor Responsible Travel Providers

View a full list of posts by Laurel.

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 21st, 2011 at 10:00 am and is filed under the following categories: