Commuters save money and relax with ride share programs in
SBC
Robert Lee drives a total of 90 minutes to work every day in
Monterey, but instead of wasting money on gas Lee is saving money
through a ride share program where he and six of his co-workers
drive to work together everyday in a van they lease from San Benito
County.
Commuters save money and relax with ride share programs in SBC
Robert Lee drives a total of 90 minutes to work every day in Monterey, but instead of wasting money on gas Lee is saving money through a ride share program where he and six of his co-workers drive to work together everyday in a van they lease from San Benito County.
“It’s been a great experience and it saves a lot of money on gas,” Lee said.
No, Lee isn’t a county employee driving a company car – he’s part of the Vanpool program.
The Vanpool program has a fleet of seven vehicles that the county leases out to commuters in an effort to get more people to share vehicles and commute with one another, according to Veronica Lezama, a transportation planner with the Council of San Benito County Governments.
The 15-person vans are leased on a monthly basis for $450 per month, which works out to about $30 per person per month, or about one tank of gas, depending on the size of the vehicle being filled.
For what some people are paying to fill their compact cars with a single tank of gas, vanpool riders have an entire month of transportation.
Every day the seven employees of CTB McGraw Hill meet at Memorial Park and ride together to Monterey. After work they ride back to Memorial Park and drive to their respective homes. The cost of fueling the vehicle is picked up by their employer, so the only cost to the employees is their share of the monthly lease, $81 for riders and $41 for the two drivers.
The vehicles in the Vanpool were purchased with money acquired through the Monterey Bay Area Clean Air District with the purpose of reducing emissions.
Lezama explained that vanpooling reduces pollutants. Each passenger that rides in the van is one less car on local roadways.
There are even some businesses that pay for their employeesto commute. Employers who assist with vanpool programs such as the SBC program often get a tax break from the government, Lezama said.
There are currently three vans leased out within the county’s fleet of seven. The county leases those vehicles to residents who commute to San Benito County as well as those who commute outside the county.
For those who fear carpooling will limit flexibility to respond to family emergencies quickly, the San Benito program has a guaranteed ride home program, Lezama said.
As an added incentive, if a person takes the vanpool to work, but suddenly had to race home for an emergency, the rideshare program pays for a taxi. This service can be used up to three times per year, but Lezama says that since the option has been available nobody has taken advantage of it.
“That just goes to show that the vanpool program works,” Lezama said. “This gives people an alternative to driving alone.”
None of the passengers in Lee’s vanpool have had to take advantage of the taxi service, but it has been a challenge finding riders that share the same work schedule. Plus it is sometimes a nuisance having to get up earlier for a ride share program, he said, but the benefits of such a program greatly outweigh the costs.
“When I think about the alternative – my wife cringes at the fact that I would otherwise be paying $300 per month for gas instead of $41 per month for the lease,” Lee said. “The fact that you can sit back and listen to your CD player or work on your laptop without the stress of driving is great. The cost savings are incredible.”
Additionally, there are no maintenance costs for commuters either, since the rideshare program picks up the costs. The only thing he pays for is the occasional carwash, Lee said.
In addition to the vanpool, the ride share program also connects commuters in a number of other ways. One of those methods is through the 5-1-1 ride sharing program. That program which is facilitated in Santa Clara County includes residents from San Benito County. The San Benito County ridesharing program participates with 5-1-1 by collecting names of interested persons and adding them to the database so they can match riders to carpools.
“Through the carpool match list we also try to form new van lists,” Lezama said.
Additionally there are also San Benito County Transit shuttles that operate on a fixed route to transport residents to the Caltrain station, Greyhound Station and Gavilan College in Gilroy.
For more information on San Benito’s Ride Share, visit www.sanbenitorideshare.org or call 637-POOL (637-7665).
Patrick O’Donnell can be reached at [email protected].
