Carpool

Carpooling can be as simple as two co-workers or even a husband and wife sharing the ride to work. According to AAA, commuters driving alone 25 miles to work spend about $5,800 per year including gas, maintenance, taxes, depreciation and finance costs. The same commuter saves 50% by carpooling with one other person.

Carpools can be arranged in one of the following ways:

• One person may drive all the time, while the passengers contribute only to gas and parking.
• Participants may alternate driving and not exchange money.
• The carpool driver may pick up passengers at their homes, or they may meet at a central location like a park-and-ride lot.
• Carpools can and do include family members.
• Collectively, the carpool participants make up the rules and determine the schedule.

Advantages:

• Less stress commuting to and from work
• Financial savings due to shared commuting costs
• Less need for parking
• More free time for riders to read and relax
• Less pollution due to fewer auto emissions

There are many ways we can help employers, who don't often realize how they influence employees' commuting habits or how those habits influence their businesses.

Frequently Asked Questions on Carpooling

How Do I Get Started?

When you use our Ridematching Registration Form to find a carpool partner, we will send you a match list containing the names of commuters with a similar commute to yours.

Call everyone on the list to form a carpool or follow the tips on finding others to join a carpool.

10 Tips to Successful Carpooling:

• Determine Your Route and Schedule. Establish the morning pickup point(s) and designate a place(s) to meet for the trip home.


• Draw Up a Schedule for Driving Responsibilities. If all members of your carpool alternate driving, decide among yourselves if you want to alternate on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.


• Establish a Method for Reimbursing Driving Expenses. If the members of your carpool do not share the driving equally, come to an understanding of how the costs will be shared and agree on payment dates.


• Be Punctual. Decide how long the driver is expected to wait.


• Establish Policies. Smoking or non-smoking; music and volume; food or drinks. Your carpool will have a better chance of success if possible irritants are discussed initially.


• Make Carpooling Serve One Purpose. If it is for commuting to and from work, do not let it become a shopping or errand service.


• Establish a Chain of Communication. If a driver is ill, or will not be going to work one day, an alternate driver should be notified to ensure that other members or the carpool will have a ride.


• Drive Carefully and Keep the Vehicle in Good Repair. This includes keeping the vehicle clean and safe. There are others involved; eliminate excessive speed and reckless maneuvers.


• Respect Your Fellow Carpooler's Wishes. Especially in the morning, when some people like a time of quiet.


• If You Lose a Member of the Carpool, call 1.866.579.RIDE for help finding a replacement. Together we can save money, time and the environment while reducing traffic congestion.

What if I Can't Find a Suitable Match on my List?

If you've called the commuters on your match list, but you could not find a carpool partner, don't worry! Many new commuters are added to our database each month. Just call us and ask for a new match list. Commuter Services will automatically send you an updated match list each quarter as a courtesy.

What if I Need to Get Home for an Emergency?

The Emergency Ride Home Program provides you with a reimbursement for a ride home in the event of an emergency, for example if you need to take a taxi. By going to the Emergency Ride Home page, you can sign up online and view information about the program. If you are in the Commuter Services database to receive carpool or vanpool matches, you already are automatically enrolled in the emergency ride home program.

Carpool services are offered in every city and town in our seven-county area, including (but not limited to) the following cities: Camp Hill, Elizabethtown, Ephrata, Dillsburg, Hanover, Hershey, Gettysburg, Jonestown, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mechanicsburg, New Bloomfield, New Oxford, Palmyra, Reading, York, Harrisburg, Shippensburg, Shrewsbury, Spring Grove, and Carlisle.