|
|
Highway 40: The Price of Progress
Life in the carpool lane
RideFinders sees more commuters link up ahead of highway shutdown
BY MARIA J. MAURIELLO
For many area commuters, the upcoming closure of Highway 40 will be a hassle at best.
RideFinders has a different view.
"Those 170,000 cars (estimated daily volume on Highway 40) will need to go somewhere,
and we're encouraging employers to be proactive and let their employees know about
how RideFinders can help them get to work in a timely and cost-effective manner,"
said RideFinders Director Joe Wright. "As a result, we've already seen a bump up in
services, and we're expecting the latter half of this year to be particularly busy."
Founded in 1994, RideFinders helps commuters -- at no cost -- connect with other
people in order to carpool or vanpool to work. People who work in St. Louis City;
St. Louis, Franklin, Jefferson and St. Charles counties in Missouri; and Madison,
St. Clair and Monroe counties in Illinois can access the regional ride-share program's
services. Its mission is to help reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality
in the St. Louis region.
RideFinders, which is administered in the entire region by the Madison County
Transit District, is funded solely through grants from the U.S. Department of
Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.
It also works with employers to get their employees involved in carpooling and
vanpooling. Five years ago RideFinders partnered with fewer than 300 employers.
As a result of higher gas prices and road construction such as the Highway 40
project, Wright said, that number has grown to just fewer than 1,000 employers
-- 200 of which have come on-board since Jan. 1, 2007. During the same five-year
period, the number of carpoolers and vanpoolers has increased from 3,700 to 5,600.
Wright estimated the number of participating employers would surpass 1,000 this month,
and he expects continued growth ahead of the shutdown of Highway 40.
Clayton-based law firm Blumenfeld, Kaplan & Sandweiss PC started partnering with
RideFinders in mid-February because of the upcoming Highway 40 project. "We have
so many employees scattered throughout St. Louis and Illinois that will be affected
by the Highway 40 construction, and RideFinders is a very attractive option for
them," said Maria Harvey, the law firm's office manager. Twenty-five percent of
the firm's more than 100 employees have already decided to participate in RideFinders,
and Harvey expects many more to sign up.
"Not only does it save employees money and gasoline, it offers them a much less
stressful ride to work each day," she said.
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) in St. Louis has been partnering
with RideFinders for 13 years. Paul Kieffer, transportation coordinator, is one of
the agency's 343 employees -- out of 2,000 -- who carpool or vanpool to work each
day.
"It's a great benefit that complements other NGA-sponsored initiatives including
on-site parking for carpools and vanpools. Government employees can also be
reimbursed up to $110 per month for participating in vanpools," Kieffer said.
"Each year NGA invites RideFinders to come on-site and provide information about
its services and incentives and encourage people to sign up for carpools and
vanpools."
The NGA is a Department of Defense combat support agency.
RideFinders, according to its own calculations, saves participants $5.6 million in
commuting costs (gasoline, vehicle maintenance, and wear and tear) per year,
eliminates 42.8 million driving miles from area roadways annually and reduces
air pollution by 1.7 million pounds per year.
"Part of our mission is to improve air quality in the St. Louis region, and this
makes us eligible to apply for CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality)
funding to underwrite our costs for marketing and acquiring vehicles for our
vanpools," Wright said. CMAQ funding is provided by the U.S. Department of
Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.
In 2006 the Madison County Transit District applied for and received about
$5.4 million in CMAQ funds for RideFinders. That amount makes up RideFinders'
budget for 2006, 2007 and 2008, though the transit district could apply for
more funds if needed, Wright said.
He said the funds are being used to replace vans, expand the fleet and pay
RideFinders' seven full-time staff members as well as for marketing and
outreach expenses.
How it works
A ride-matching service -- accessible at www.ridefinders.org or (800) VIP-RIDE --
allows individuals to search for carpool mates. In addition, vanpools are available
for a low monthly fee based on the number of miles driven and the number of riders
splitting the cost.
"It works like a dating service," Wright said. "You enter your preferences into the
database and the computer matches you up with other commuters who drive a similar
route to work. Then you can call each other to settle on driving arrangements or
form a vanpool if you have enough people."
At least seven people are needed for a vanpool, one of whom serves as the primary
driver. RideFinders provides a van, and the riders split the monthly lease cost,
which is $600 for up to 1,667 miles traveled and higher if more miles are traveled.
They also split fuel costs, which average about $300 a month. Wright said RideFinders
averages almost 10 riders a van, so each rider pays about $90 a month.
In addition, RideFinders works with employers -- providing them with ride-sharing
information and incentives for their employees. The incentives are the Guaranteed
Ride Home Program -- which involves as many as six taxi rides home per year if an
employee must leave work early for an emergency or other urgent personal reason or
must work late -- and the Go And Share the ride (GAS) program, which rewards
employees who have participated in RideFinders for 30 days with a $10 gas gift
certificate.
Because RideFinders is federally funded, there is no cost to employers. And per
Missouri and Illinois state statutes, employers are not liable for their employees'
participation in the program.
Wright said he hopes the Highway 40 project will encourage commuters to permanently
alter how they get to work. "If we can establish a change in driving habits that
extends beyond the road improvement's completion, we can impact the quality of life
and work for commuters, employers and the entire region for years to come."
Maria J. Mauriello is a St. Louis freelance writer.
|
|