Published September 2002

Businesses of all sizes
can join van pool

By John Wolcott
SCBJ Editor

Those familiar white Community Transit vehicles on the highways throughout Snohomish County are part of the nation’s third-largest public agency van pooling program, saving time and money for riders, reducing traffic congestion stress and even making friends during long commutes.

That’s quite a claim. But CT’s fleet of 240 vehicles — in 8-, 12- and 15-passenger models — lives up to its reputation. Also, fees paid by van users cover more than 95 percent of the cost of operation, making the program a low-cost venture for the transit agency.

“Large businesses like Boeing and Fluke use them — they help them comply with the state’s Commute Trip Reduction law for companies with more than 100 people arriving at work between 6 and 9 a.m. — but smaller businesses or any individuals who live in a common area and have a fairly common destination can also sign up for our vans,” said Bob Throckmorton, CT’s manager of transportation management services.

Dawn Kirsch, the transit agency’s van pool supervisor, said CT provides the vehicle, insurance and maintenance — even making sure a loaner van is available for times when the van pool vehicle has to be in for servicing. Drivers and passengers split the monthly costs, which average about $55 to $60 a month per person for a 60-mile-a-day round trip in an eight-passenger vehicle.

“Figuring wear and tear on tires and engines, the cost of gas and other expenses, AAA of Washington figures it costs about 56 cents per mile to operate a midsized vehicle, whereas van pooling shares those costs among all the riders,” Throckmorton said.

Many companies, he said, particularly those in the Commute Trip Reduction program, will provide van pooling subsidies for riders (Boeing provides $25 a month), along with reserved van pool parking spaces.

Because vans can use HOV lanes on Puget Sound freeways, riders also save time and the anxiety of being stuck in miles of gridlock during morning and evening commutes, he said.

Last September, CT had 278 vans on the road, but lower employment in Snohomish County due to the weakened economy and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has reduced activity to 240 today.

“Since King County has the nation’s largest van pooling program, with around 700 vehicles, Pierce County has 198 and we have 240, we have the nation’s largest regional van pool program, with more than 1,100 vehicles,” Throckmorton said. “Surveys have shown that once people use van pools they generally stay with them for a long time.”

A special promotion starts in September and continues to the end of the year, offering three months of free van ridership for people who have never used van pools or those who have been out of a van pool program for three months or more, Kirsch said. Even those who join near the end of the year will get their three months, even though the time will extend into 2003.

“Think about the advantages for people living in rural areas, where regular bus lines or express service to Boeing aren’t available,” Throckmorton said. “It’s a niche market open to everyone.”

To learn more about CT’s van pool, Commute Trip Reduction and Ride-Share matching programs, contact the agency at 425-353-RIDE, call Kirsch at 425-348-2311 or visit CT’s Web site, www.commtrans.org.

Also, for RideMatch information, call CT at 888-814-1300 or check out the program’s own Web site, www.RideshareOnline.com, where those seeking to find space in van pools in their areas can contact each other.

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