RIDES Seeks Commuters for Hacienda Vanpools

RIDES for Bay Area Commuters is helping publicize incentive programs currently offered for those seeking to join or start a vanpool.

Vanpools offer a number of advantages over driving alone to work. An average 50-mile round trip commute costs a single driver approximately $300 per month, while the average vanpool costs just one third as much. The current 879 vanpools registered in the Bay Area eliminate 476,000 miles of vehicle travel and 16,600 pounds of pollutants per day, saving participants a collective $176,000 daily.

Incentives Offered Now

Two incentive programs are now offered for new vanpool members and founders:

Eastern Contra Costa County Incentive Program New vanpool members who are residents of Eastern Contra Costa County or San Ramon can qualify for incentives if their commute destination is outside Contra Costa County. New vanpool members are entitled to a 50 percent discount of their vanpool fare for the first three months. Those who begin and maintain vanpools are entitled to $1,000 at the conclusion of the vanpool's first year of operation.

An easy way to take advantage of this incentive is to join an existing vanpool. For example, a vanpool from Brentwood to Hacienda is starting and needs riders. This nine-passenger vanpool arrives at 7:30 a.m. at Stoneridge and Hacienda and returns to Brentwood at 4:30 p.m. Call Rick Spero for more information at (510) 463-4675.

VPSI Lease Initiative For a limited time, those starting vanpools can receive special discounts on van leasing. VPSI will lease a van for free for the first two weeks, 50 percent off the first month, and 25 percent off the second month. For more information on VPSI, which offers insurance and mainte nance in addition to the actual vehicle, call (800) VAN-RIDE (826-7433).

More Information

For more information, including free carpool matching services, call RIDES at (800) 755-POOL (7665) or access www.rides.org on the WWW.

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