Carpooling: The Basics What is Carpooling? Two or more people sharing a ride in a car constitutes a carpool. Carpooling is simple, tends to be informal, and can last as long as the participants desire. Sometimes carpools are defined as having a minimum of three, or even four people in order to use high occupancy vehicle [HOV] lanes. How does Carpooling work? Carpools are based on sharing commute expenses. There are two basic types of carpool arrangements: - The "poolers" use one car owned by one driver. The driver calculates his or her operating costs for the daily commute, then divides by the number of riders to determine how much each rider should contribute. The riders and driver agree to a periodic [daily, weekly, monthly] payment plan.
- The poolers can rotate car use and driving so that each person's vehicle and time is shared equally. No money is exchanged in this arrangement.
How do People Start Carpools? Many carpools are started informally between neighbors or co-workers. Other carpools are initiated with the help of Transportation Management Associations, such as TYTRAN, employers, or regional ridesharing agencies, which match commuters together based on work hours and geographic location. Many carpools are two or three day a week arrangements. Carpooling is flexible and can fit the needs of most commuters at least some of the time. The Savings and Convenience of Carpooling Gas is a fraction of the cost of driving alone. The hidden cost of maintenance, depreciation and insurance adds an additional 35 cents or more per mile, plus parking and tolls. Carpooling saves the average commuter up to $3000 in vehicle costs per year. You might be surprised how many potential carpool partners are located in your area, making carpooling easy and convenient. How to Participate in a Carpool The most effective way to find out what carpools are operating in your area fill out a Ridematching Form and e-mail it to us. The information on the form will be sent to the Regional Ridematching Agency where your information will be placed in the Regional data base. Within 7 days you will receive a list of commuters sharing your home and work locations also looking for carpool partners, and their phone number. It will be up to you to contact them and make your own arrangements. TYTRAN also maintains a smaller data base of member company employee requests for carpools, and this data base will also be checked for matches to your information. Ridematching Form What is Vanpooling? Seven or more people sharing a ride in a van constitutes a vanpool. Vanpooling became popular during the fuel crisis of the 1970's as a means of dealing with the high price and low supply of gasoline and remains popular in the 1990's as traffic congestion and air quality demand sensible commuting alternatives. How does Vanpooling work? Vanpools are based on sharing commute expenses. There are three basic types of vanpool arrangements. - Owner-operated vanpools use a van owned [and usually driven] by a commuter who wants to have riders share his or her cost of operating the van. The van is opened to other commuters on weekdays, who pay a periodic charge to the driver/owner. The individual owner/operator is responsible for all maintenance and liability insurance.
- Employer-sponsored vanpooling uses vans owned [or leased] by an employer and offered to employees for commuting purposes as an extra benefit. Employees pay the company a set fare, depending on the length of their commute. The employer maintains the vans and arranges for insurance coverage.
- Third-part vanpooling allows individuals or employers to contract for vans on a month-to-month basis from a vanpool management company. The vanpool management company usually provides maintenance and insurance as part of the package for which each individual vanpool group pays a monthly or weekly fare.
How do Vanpools Start? Vanpools are generally more structured and formalized in their organization than carpools, in part because of the cost of obtaining, maintaining, and insuring the van. The driver is often the person who collects the fare from passengers, and most vanpoolers pay in advance to ride everyday, although they do not necessarily have to use the vanpool everyday. Transportation Management Association [TMA's] such as TYTRAN, and local or regional ridesharing organizations can assist in matching prospective riders and drivers through the use of regional computer databases. Vanpooling is flexible, but operates most efficiently for those commuters who have fairly regular schedules. The Savings and Convenience of Vanpooling Vanpools are convenient and less costly than driving alone, and best for commuters with long commutes, usually over 25 miles, and regular schedules. Depending on the number of people in a vanpool, you can save approximately $300 per month on a 60 mile round trip commute. How to Participate in a Vanpool The most effective way to find out what vanpools are operating in your area fill out a Ridematching Form and e-mail it to us. The information on the form will be sent to the Regional Ridematching Agency where your information will be placed in the Regional data base. Within 7 days you will receive a list of commuters sharing your home and work locations also looking for carpool partners, and their phone number. It will be up to you to contact them and make your own arrangements. TYTRAN also maintains a smaller data base of member company employee requests for vanpools, and this data base will also be checked for matches to your information. You can also check with ABS Vans, a vanpooling service operating in the the I-95 Corridor. For information on their vanpool operations check: www.absvans.com Ridematching Form
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