This Month

Construction on SR 52 gets green light

Regional growth forecast provides glimpse at our future

Vanpools offer solution to high gas prices
NCTD prepares to implement fare changes

SANDAG Service Bureau completes small business, education, transit projects

Robberies with firearms increased in 2005, but still below national average

Summer Cruisin' with MTS

Vanpools offer solution to high gas prices

If the stress and frustration of battling traffic failed to convince you to share the drive, the skyrocketing gas prices might do the trick. As the price at the pump nears $3.40 per gallon, the SANDAG RideLink program has a convenient solution to ease the growing burden on your pocketbook — vanpooling. Between July 2004 and June 2005, 11,909,775 vanpool miles were driven regionally, and the number continues to rise.

This week, commuters are hitting the phones and the RideLink Web site in search of alternatives to driving solo. “There is definitely a correlation between the high gas prices and the spike in vanpool interest,” said Allison Richards-Evensen, RideLink Marketing Manager. “Congestion has always been an incentive for creating or joining vanpools — the price at the pump just adds fuel to the fire. And when you have a commuting alternative that offers so many benefits to participants, it’s bound to be a success.”

San Diego started vanpooling in 1995 with 30 vehicles. In 1998 there were 140 vanpools with 1,379 participants. Today, 4,200 vanpoolers are spending less money on gasoline and parking fees, and reducing vehicle wear and tear as they climb aboard the 500 passenger vans that travel throughout the region. These savvy commuters also have access to carpool and HOV lanes; are able to catch-up on sleep, reading, or work; and have the opportunity to meet new and interesting people.

RideLink’s customized matching service helps interested commuters locate existing vanpools that mesh with work schedules and daily routines. Currently, RideLink has a database of approximately 14,000 commuters who are looking for someone to share the ride. New vanpools are created monthly.

If commuters are unable to find a vanpool that meets their specific needs, RideLink can help them start their own, from scratch. The minimum number of passengers needed to form a vanpool is seven, and the monthly cost per rider decreases as this number increases. The vans range in size from seven-passenger to 15-passenger models.

RideLink and the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District have teamed up to pay up to a $400 monthly subsidy toward each approved passenger van leased through one of the contracted vanpool vendors. Drivers are offered reasonable month-to-month leases on these vehicles that include maintenance, roadside assistance, and insurance costs. Many vanpool riders pay less than $50 a month to ride in their vanpool.

For those who are worried about being stuck without a car — RideLink’s Guaranteed Ride Home Program provides a taxi or rental car, for a minimal co-pay, to ensure that vanpoolers are never stranded during emergencies. Commuters who carpool, bike to work, or use the Commuter Express bus service or COASTER also can take advantage of this program.

To learn more about joining or starting a vanpool, the Guaranteed Ride Home Program, or RideLink’s other valuable commuter services, go to www.ridelink.org, or call 1-800-COMMUTE, option 3.

Project Manager:
Allison Richards-Evensen, ari@sandag.org, 619-699-1982