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Section 2, Chapter 3
Definition:
A carpool is two or more people that commute
to work or other destinations together in a private vehicle. Carpool
members work out their own agreements on who drives and how often,
schedules, and payments for gas and maintenance.
Benefits
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Employer
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Employee
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Community
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- Reduced parking needs
- Less employee stress/better productivity
- Better employee morale/retention
- Economical to provide subsidies
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- Economical to use
- Saves money using less gas
- Less wear on personal auto
- Less stress
- Car insurance cost reduction
- More personal or work time
- Possible Guaranteed Ride Home
- Possible preferential parking
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- Less traffic congestion
- Better air quality
- Reduced fuel use
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Challenges
- Finding suitable
carpool matches
- Schedule constraints
Implementation Steps
Carpools are the ultimate solution for employees
who want flexibility in Commute Solutions. Since riders—usually
just two or three—set their own schedules, routes and cost
sharing, they have the potential to craft an arrangement that meets
many of their needs. The challenge is finding suitable matches,
co-workers with compatible schedules that live close enough to each
other to justify the extra time it takes to pick up riders. Additionally,
the carpoolers have to have compatible "styles of commuting,"
meaning whether they talk, play the radio, smoke, tell jokes, etc.
Usually carpool etiquette can be worked out fairly easily and democratically.
Employers may also wonder about providing
subsidies to carpoolers. Since the IRS does not classify carpools
as commuter vehicles, employees and employers don't receive any
direct tax benefits. Without set fees, many employers don't have
a starting point for setting subsidies. However, many employers
have found creative ways to offer valuable incentives to promote
carpooling.
1. Examine How Carpools
Form
In many situations, scores of employees are carpooling without an
ETC knowing about it. After all, with two people constituting a
carpool, a husband and wife riding together would qualify. Additionally,
at larger employers it's fairly common for co-workers who live near
each other to discover their close proximity and work out carpool
arrangements over time.
The Key for ETCs is to:
Locate existing carpools
The best way to find an existing carpool is to offer and promote
incentives. Once the carpool finds out about your Commute Solutions
program, its more likely to report its activities if an incentive
is involved.
Expand existing carpools
As noted, many carpools contain only two people. Adding a third
should be easy, since all an ETC has to do is find someone in the
existing carpool's area with a compatible schedule. Right? Unfortunately,
many carpools like their existing setups, which often are based
on friendships, and they are reticent about adding new riders. An
ETC can overcome this obstacle by offering greater incentives to
carpools with three or more people.
For example, Widget Inc. might offer a quarterly
prize drawing to all carpoolers, but might only give preferential
parking spaces to carpools with three or more people.
Create new carpools
Ride match promotions (See
Ride Matching, Section 1, Chapter 3) offer a variety of ways
to attract suitable carpools. An ETC should concentrate on promoting
the obvious benefits of carpooling (commute gas costs reduced, for
example) to maximize the effectiveness of the program.
Additionally, an ETC can search for riders
by:
- Including carpool information in employee
orientation packets
- Posting information on existing and forming
carpools in popular gathering places, such as cafeterias, break
rooms, etc.
- Holding a ZIP Code Mixer or other events
2. Establish Rules
of the Road
It's often helpful for new carpools to establish simple rules of
the road in writing. The tips in this section provide a good starting
point. Like any rideshare arrangement, it helps to keep communication
ongoing and open between members to avoid potential problems. An
ETC often can help facilitate communication by setting up an informal
meeting to discuss carpool issues among member.
3. Develop Incentives
Employers need to be a bit more creative when offering subsidies
and other incentives to carpoolers, because of possible tax implications.
(See Section 5).
Popular incentives include:
- Providing preferential parking spaces
for carpools, either on employer lots or by paying for spaces
- Offering a Guaranteed Ride Home program
for members
- Holding regular prize drawings for carpoolers
- Recognizing carpoolers with special giveaways,
events, lunches and dinners
- Allowing carpoolers to trade in drive
and ride "points" for certificates or merchandise/services
Certificates, for instance, can be for auto-related expenditures,
such as tune ups and oil changes, which also improve emissions
and benefit air quality. (A low-cost item might be to provide
employer-produced goods or services as rewards.)
- Allowing carpool members to use employer
fleet or pool vehicles for meetings, personal use, etc., during
the day
4. Track Carpool Participation
Since tickets or passes are not purchased by carpoolers, it could
be difficult to track their participation. By tying incentives to
tracking, an ETC can help ensure that the majority of carpoolers
report what they're doing.
Cost / Savings
See the Cost Savings Calculator (See Section
5). to find out how much money employees can save with carpools.
As with vanpools, employers can gain significant
benefits from carpools, often by providing modest subsidies or incentives.
For example striping a prime parking space for a carpool costs little,
but the employer has reduced its need for an average of two to five
parking spaces. The value of parking spaces can vary greatly, but
looking at a leased space, it's easy to see that the employer has
the potential to save $50 or more per space in some instances. Employers
that own parking facilities can reduce the need for expansion or
ensure that their current parking is not overburdened.
Resources
Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority
(Capital Metro)
www.capmetro.org
512-389-7400 Administration
512-474-1200 Ride Information Line
State Energy Conservation Office (SECO)
www.seco.cpa.state.tx.us
512-463-1876
SECO provides an online
ride matching service for state employees.
Case Study
Farmers Insurance in Austin faced a dilemma
in 1996. Company executives knew a consolidation of north and south
locations was necessary. However, a large number of employees who
commuted to the south location would be forced to drive significantly
farther to get to work, and many employees expressed their concern
about the new location.
Additionally, the north location did not
have enough parking to accommodate the new influx of employees.
The solution? The company launched a campaign to attract carpoolers
and later vanpoolers to reduce the need for parking and lessen the
impact of a long commute. Incentives like preferential parking,
free car washes, oil changes, maintenance certificates and other
freebies proved successful and resulted in 80 carpoolers and 11
vanpools.
Forms / Maps / Templates
Helpful
Checklist for Forming a Carpool (Word)
Helpful Checklist
for Forming a Carpool (PDF)
Capital
Metro Online Carpool Ride Matching Form
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