What We Do
The mission of SmartGO, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, is advancing car-optional communities and transportation choices that are healthier and more sustainable for people and the planet. Just as AAA in the early 20th century played a key role in transforming the US into a nation of motorists, SmartGO is now employing a range of strategies—both public sector-driven and market-based—to reduce our dependence on the automobile.
Millions of Americans are looking for ways to ditch their cars. They want to spend less time sitting in traffic and more time enjoying life with family or friends. They want more choices for getting around and want to reduce climate-fouling emissions.
Across the country, innovative new transportation networks are springing up to serve our cities, towns and suburbs. Many promise real freedom from car dependence. But as public agencies and private companies rush to promulgate such approaches, and as demand for access to ever-more crowded streets grows, who is looking after the interests of the public?
That’s where SmartGO comes in…
Advocacy, Outreach and Education
SmartGO’s primary focus is on the needs of users as it works to advance car-optional living. Whether it is providing consumers with educational materials to help reduce transportation costs, or advising employers, institutions and municipalities on strategies for lowering VMT (vehicle-miles traveled), SmartGO strives both to expand mobility options and to create and restore places where people can get around without a car.
Consumer Initiatives
Working with nonprofit and commercial partners, SmartGO is advancing products, services and programs that meet people where they are in the transition from car dependence to mobility freedom. SmartGO recently launched an outreach and education program to encourage the use of pay-per-mile (PPM) and non-owner auto insurance.
Multiple research studies have shown that PPM coverage reduces vehicle-miles-travelled (VMT) by about 8%. That lowered mileage, in turn, leads to many other significant personal and community benefits: fewer collisions, less pollution from gas powered cars and less congestion from all vehicles.
Non-owner auto insurance is often purchased by people who rent or share cars. Such policies cover loss and/or damage caused by uninsured, under-insured or hit-and-run drivers. Some non-owner policies offer the same coverage to customers when they are cycling, walking, on a scooter or using public transit.
Making a Dent in the Universe
SmartGO’s outreach program for pay-per-mile auto insurance has met with strong consumer interest. Looking at the number of active policies bound by visitors to our web site since the program launched in 2022, we estimate that miles not driven by policyholders in the coming year will be equal to a distance that’s 93% of the way to the moon. As more people recognize the environmental and financial benefits of pay-per-per mile auto insurance, we expect that distance to grow, eventually reaching to the moon, and beyond.
