CARPOOL/VANPOOL

 
   

What Is It?

Vanpooling/carpooling is an arrangement by a group of commuters to ride together from home or a prearranged meeting place in a van or a car to their destinations in a single round trip, with the driver as a fellow commuter. Vanpools/carpools usually consist of individuals who live near each other and are employees of the same company, or are employees of different companies located only a short distance apart, and have the same work hours. The great advantage of vanpools and carpools is that it reduces vehicle trips, reduces vehicle miles traveled, and therefore reduces auto emissions that result in poor air quality.

Shared Impact and Benefits

  • Car- and van-pooling reduces overall auto emissions by reducing vehicle miles traveled, and by doing so, improve air quality. Ground-level ozone formation is reduced through the reduced levels of oxides of nitrogen from auto exhaust.

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  • The American Lung Association reports that low levels of ground-level ozone adversely affect nearly one-third of our population. So improvements in air quality result in improvements in public health.

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  • Peak hour traffic congestion (and resulting gasoline consumption) are reduced. Nine billion gallons of fuel are wasted in traffic congestion each year -- 800 times the amount of oil spilled by the Exxon Valdez.

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  • Employers will be able to offer employees a value-added benefit and take a tax-write-off. Eight of 10 U.S. workers believe commuter benefits are valuable to employees. Furthermore, employers that pay for employee parking costs can save money.

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  • Vanpool/carpool participants save money by sharing commuting costs.

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  • Vanpool/carpool riders have lower stress commutes to work. Employers will also have more productive employees with higher morale.

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Costs

Usually vanpoolers/carpoolers will share the costs of gasoline, maintenance, and/or leasing the vehicles. By offering commuter benefits, including carpooling and vanpooling, a company with 1,000 employees can lower its annual parking expenses by more than $70,000 and save participating employees $13,000 each year in taxes and $160,000 each year in gasoline, parking, and vehicle costs.

   
 

This Action Item can be implemented as a

POLICY
ORDINANCE
PROGRAM

 

How long does this take to implement?

A vanpooling/carpooling program can be implemented within a few months. Once the program is established, individual pools can be set up in less than a few weeks.

   

  • Carpooling and vanpooling commuters get to work in ways that reduce air pollution and traffic congestion, save employers and employees money, reduce the environmental impacts associated with driving single-passenger vehicles, reduce parking space demand and expenses, and relieve commuter stress.