Ridesharing

Ridesharing is the term used to refer to both carpooling and vanpooling. It may also be used to indicate other transportation modes other than a single occupant vehicle (SOV) such as buses or trains. This section is focused on carpooling and vanpooling.

Benefits to Your Employer

• reduced need for parking
• Employee productivity is enhanced as a result of reduced commuting stress

Benefits to employees

• saving in commuting time when using High Occupancy Vehicle lanes
• reduced commute cost (find out what your drive is costing you)
• reduced commuting stress
• preferred parking spaces are reserved for people who rideshare at some area employers

  Benefits to the community

  • improve air quality
  • reduced fuel consumption and highway congestion

Carpool

The average carpool is 2.2 riders per vehicle. (Its an average OK? So wipe that silly grin off your face). For every ten carpools formed of previous solo drivers, 12 vehicle trips are reduced.

Carpools are as varied as the people who form them. One person may do all the driving with the riders contributing to the cost of the commute. Or the commuters may share driving and not exchange money. Sharing a ride to work with a spouse or friend counts as a carpool. Taking children to daycare or school doesn't count as a carpool, because the children would not be driving alone otherwise.

And for those of you married married folk, don't overlook the possibility of sharing a ride to work with your spouse. A carpool is a carpool, even if the riders are related!

Before making any final carpool arrangements, the prospective carpoolers need to be prepared to screen the other party for many issues such as preference for smoking, type of music, flexibility of schedule, etc.

Vanpool

A vanpool is defined as a prearranged group of seven to fifteen people who share their commute. The vanpool group travels from home (or a prearranged meeting place) to work, school, or other institution and back in a single round trip, in which the driver is also commuting. Vanpool members may share driving if they wish.

Recently, Yakima Transit began a vanpool program. The first vanpool vehicle, which travels from the Yakima area to the Hanford worksite, began service in July, 1999. If you are interested in finding out more about vanpool possiblities, or creating your own vanpool, call Yakima Transit at (509) 575-6175; or contact our office


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