Van Pooling!

[pingtheduck]

Nice! About $100 per month verses $400 plus for commuters. A good solution for RM people in a bunch of cases. If my kiddo went Saint John Vianney I'd be looking into this too. I like it when the papers report solutions with their problems.


Vanpools are on the rise along with the price of gasoline

By Dan Vierria - dvierria@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Vanpool Rule No. 1: The van waits for no one, including writers.

I missed my very first commuter van ride from Elk Grove to downtown Sacramento. Parked and waiting by the Doritos truck in the Bel-Air market parking lot at Laguna Boulevard and Franklin Boulevard, I should have been around the corner, loitering in a smaller lot.

Other than that misfire, vanpooling proved a quick, pleasant ride to work.

A vanpool is a partnership of commuters. The driver leases the van and riders sign on to share the expenses. Splitting costs, vanpooling is an inexpensive and relatively stress-free commute option. Plus, you can drop rich lines at the gym that begin, "My driver …"

Seeking ways to hammer a stake through the heart of gas prices, I begged a vanpool ride with an Elk Grove group I'd found online (Sacramento Transportation Management Association, Sacramento TMA, Sacramento California). I called van driver Jerry Ray, a Caltrans information systems analyst who graciously agreed to let me ride along in his 15-passenger van.

Ray, like many other Sacramento-area vanpool drivers, leases his van from the Enterprise Rideshare program, which offers eight-passenger minivans up to 15-passenger vans with roomy bench seats.

The cheapest vanpools are the biggest vans with the maximum number of riders. For a 15-passenger van, Ray says, you need a minimum of 10 riders to make it work.

Each of Ray's riders antes up $67.67 a month, plus another $30 for the van's gas and daytime parking fee. Total: $97.67. A state rideshare program subsidy reduces each rider's actual cost to around $30 a month – the cost of about seven gallons of gas. Nice.

"That's why I have no problem getting riders," said Ray. "With gas prices up, there's more interest. I tell them, 'I'm full,' but there's plenty of vans to go around."

Thank goodness for that. Up at 4 a.m. and on the road from Carmichael by 5, I discovered that the pickup lot in Elk Grove was huge. By the time I hunted down the designated pickup site, Ray had long departed.

Fortunately, the driver of the last vanpool into downtown allowed me to ride along.

"We should have enough seats," said Dianna Fenster- macher, an IT specialist with Caltrans. Lucky for me, during summer months regular riders are often on vacation. Normally, Fenstermacher would be belting in for what she calls her "20-minute doze" to work, but today she was filling in for regular van driver Helmy Adelsayed, out with a family emergency.

Each rider in her vanpool pays about $25 a month. Fees are determined by the length of the commute, the distance traveled to pickup spots, the van lease agreement, gas and maintenance cost and any parking fees.

Vanpool drivers usually ride free, a perk for dealing with commute traffic. The driver also must gas up the van, oversee maintenance and handle any other paperwork.

Each van has a designated alternate driver to cover for driver sick days, appointments, vacation and other time off. If both are unable to drive on any given day, you're on your own to get to work.

On this morning, six passengers boarded the van. We would pick up two more at one of four spots on the vanpool's route. Seating is first come, first served, so there was no benefit to shouting out "Shotgun!" A state engineer occupies the front passenger seat, while state IT, human resources and accounting workers fill in behind.

Vanpool seating also can be determined by seniority, on a rotating basis or by pickup and dropoff order.

Ray and Fenstermacher avoid the potential for radio station conflicts mostly by not listening at all, unless there's a bad traffic situation. Ray prefers KFBK's traffic reports. Fenstermacher says that on the rare occasions the radio is tuned to music, it's most likely to be Smooth Jazz 94.7 (KSSJ).

Fenstermacher's van is quiet, despite my constant chatter and barrage of questions. Most of the others sit in quiet reflection – or is it that the cloud of sleep had yet to lift?

Asked why she prefers vanpooling, rider Martina Callaway offers: "There's no wear and tear on yourself."

"Except on the driver," cracks Fenstermacher.

All freeway miles are traveled in the carpool or "diamond" lanes, where slow-and-go traffic is less likely to impede the commute. In a mere 23 minutes, Fenstermacher has driven us from Elk Grove to 30th and R streets in Sacramento, where the riders work.

Vanpooling is quick, cheap and relatively convenient. And unless you often work late, getting yourself to the pickup spot on time is the biggest vanpool challenge. After that, it's all gravy. So why don't more people opt for vanpools?

"A car is like a pacifier," Ray says. "And some people can't let go of the pacifier."

[RanchHQ]

Yes Sir Ree, I could think of no better way to start my Day than to jump into a Van full of State Employees.

Well, maybe one better way.

[pingtheduck]

Originally Posted by RanchHQ

Yes Sir Ree, I could think of no better way to start my Day than to jump into a Van full of State Employees.

Well, maybe one better way.

Hilarious! How about a van full of Kindergarteners?