Car/Vanpool

On average, commuters spend $10 a day on their daily commute, which equals $2,600 annually. Start saving money and stressing less by joining or starting a car or vanpool.

A carpool is an arrangement, usually between 2 to 4 people, who make a trip in a single vehicle owned by one of the carpool members. Vanpools are vans or vehicles which can hold 7 to 15 people. Vanpools are beneficial to those employees who are clustered in one specific area, where use of a larger vehicle is more efficient than the use of multiple cars. These services can be arranged through a third-party vanpool provider like vRide , with little or no company involvement, or they can be handled with company-provided or employee-owned vehicles. Costs are divided among the pool members.

Clean Air Council can help you start or join a carpool or vanpool group through Share-A-Ride . Share-A-Ride is a free computerized service, operated by Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission that matches commuters working in the 5-county southeastern Pennsylvania region with existing carpool or vanpool groups, or creates new ones when matches are available. Even employers can locate matches for their employees. Submit a Share-A-Ride application today to receive more information. Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission provides answers to the most commonly asked questions about car/vanpool groups and Share-A-Ride.

Employees or employers can start or join an existing vanpool through vRide , the nation’s largest private provider of commuter vanpooling. Vanpools through Vride are eligible for RideECO . RideECO is Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission’s commuter voucher program that allows commuters to save by putting pre-tax dollars towards fares on many modes of public transportation. Employers save money by driving down payroll taxes with every dollar a commuter deducts. The program pays for itself and everyone gains from it. To learn more, visit www.rideeco.org.

When you start a new car/vanpool that is set up and maintained for 3 months and involves commuters who would have otherwise used multiple cars you are eligible to receive a $100 gas card.

Worried that a car or vanpool group does not give you the flexibility you need in the case of an emergency? The Emergency Ride Home (ERH) service, a “safety net” for commuters working in southeastern Pennsylvania who share their ride to work (carpool, vanpool, transit) on a regular basis, is available to you at no cost. In the event of an unexpected personal or family emergency or illness, unscheduled overtime, or if the regular ride home is not available for certain reasons, registered commuters are provided with a free ride to their home, their car, or the place of the emergency.

Sign up now or learn more by contacting Clean Air Council.

Many car and vanpool groups meet at Park and Ride lots, which are areas specifically dedicated for use by commuters to park vehicles while using public transit or participating in carpools or vanpools. Learn more about official and unofficial Park and Ride lots and see a map of all the Park and Ride lots in Greater Philadelphia Area.

If you are an employer or employee looking to start a car or vanpool group, please Contact Clean Air Council by calling 215-567-4004 x 110 or emailing nrogers@cleanair.org to learn more.