Spolight On... Vanpool Seat Finder — CommuteSmart News

Metro recently surveyed participants in its vanpool program to get insight into what makes vanpoolers tick – and what can get more employees interested in vanpooling. Of those surveyed...

The #1 reason they started vanpooling? 68% said it was to save money – no surprise there considering gas prices are topping $4 a gallon and vanpoolers typically have long commutes. Second was “save time” at 22%.
Nearly half said their biggest obstacle when it came to vanpooling was filling seats. Most rely on word of mouth or help from their employer to find new riders.
When asked to rate all the factors that drew them to vanpooling, saving money again was said to be “very important,” followed by “putting fewer miles on my car.” What wasn’t a big motivator according to the survey: the social aspects of vanpooling. More than half said that meeting people/socializing was not important to them.




CommuteSmart.info has launched a new service: the online Vanpool Seat Finder. It allows users to quickly find Southern California vanpools that are a potential match and may have open seats. To use it, just go to CommuteSmart.info, which has data on thousands of commuters, where you’ll see a link to the Vanpool Seat Finder. Then simply enter a home and work zip code to instantly get a list of vanpools that service your commute. Each listing includes: Vanpool origin and destination What time it leaves and arrives Contact information for that vanpool so you can get in touch for information on vacant seats, fares, etc. You can also view a map that shows the vanpool’s route as well as any pick-up or drop-off points along the way. There’s no need to register in the CommuteSmart.info database to get matches using the Vanpool Seat Finder, although users may want to do so to get a complete picture of other rideshare options available to them. For commuters who want to try vanpooling on a temporary basis, check out the Ride Exchange at Link Ride Exchange where vanpools post short-term seats available due to vacation, leave of absence, etc. The Vanpool Seat Finder is a service of Metro, Orange County Transportation Authority, Riverside County Transportation Commission, San Bernardino Associated Governments and Ventura County Transportation Commission.

What Do Vanpoolers Want? Metro recently surveyed participants in its vanpool program to get insight into what makes vanpoolers tick – and what can get more employees interested in vanpooling. Of those surveyed... The #1 reason they started vanpooling? 68% said it was to save money – no surprise there considering gas prices are topping $4 a gallon and vanpoolers typically have long commutes. Second was “save time” at 22%. Nearly half said their biggest obstacle when it came to vanpooling was filling seats. Most rely on word of mouth or help from their employer to find new riders. When asked to rate all the factors that drew them to vanpooling, saving money again was said to be “very important,” followed by “putting fewer miles on my car.” What wasn’t a big motivator according to the survey: the social aspects of vanpooling. More than half said that meeting people/socializing was not important to them.	More Ways to Find Vanpool Seats The Metro Vanpool Program provides $400 monthly subsidies to participating vanpools that are open to the public, and you'll soon be able to search exclusively for open seats on Los Angeles County Metro Vanpool Program public vanpools at metro.net/vanpool (check future issues of CommuteSmart News for details on when this service will be available or just check the Metro web site regularly). Orange County Transportation Authority also provides a $400 monthly subsidy to participating vanpools; for information on how to find a seat on an OCTA Vanpool Program vanpool, contact OCTA at vanpool@octa.net,(714)560-5893.