GRANITE CITY, IL, October 15, 2007 . . . RideFinders, the St. Louis regional rideshare program, is joining
rideshare agencies in Kansas City, Mid-Missouri and Springfield to encourage commuters to carpool or vanpool to work
during “Share the Ride Statewide” week from Oct. 22-26. RideFinders will provide ridesharing information through various promotional activities
throughout the week, with commuters registering a new or expanded carpool or vanpool with RideFinders during the week eligible for prizes including
lodging and camping in Missouri state parks.
“While commuters across the state will benefit from ridesharing, those in the St. Louis region could benefit the most,” notes Joe Wright, director of RideFinders.
“With an entire section of I-64 set to be shut down in January 2008, those who have made the switch to a carpool or vanpool will not only have a more relaxing,
cost-effective commute as they share the driving duties, but they will also help to reduce the number of single occupant vehicles on our region’s roadways helping
to keep traffic on the move as that project rolls on.”
Created and operated for the region by Madison County Transit, RideFinders helps commuters rideshare by providing a free
ridematching service at (800) VIP-RIDE or www.ridefinders.org to help commuters carpool with their personal vehicles
or vanpool with RideFinders vans for a monthly fare. By sharing the ride to work with RideFinders, nearly 7,000 commuters save time, stress
and almost $6 million annually in commuting costs while eliminating 45 million driving miles and 2 million pounds of air pollution annually –
helping everyone in the region drive and breathe easier.
RideFinders also partners with over 1,100 participating employers in the region to offer free ridesharing information and incentives –
such as free taxi rides home in an emergency and $10 in free gas after 30 days of ridesharing – to drive their employees to rideshare.
In return for their free participation in RideFinders, employers increase employee productivity, recruitment and retention – which will be especially important with the I-64 closure coming soon. Employers interested in joining RideFinders can call (800) VIP-RIDE.
For more information on RideFinders, please call (800) VIP-RIDE or visit www.ridefinders.org which links to the “Share the Ride Statewide” website (www.dnr.mo.gov/energy/sharetheride.htm).
RideFinders was created in 1994 to improve the quality of life and work in the St. Louis by providing a free,
ridematching service to help commuters carpool or vanpool to work, and by partnering with employers to provide
free ridesharing information and incentives to thousands of commuters at work. RideFinders is operated as a
free public service by Madison County Transit for commuters who work in the St. Louis City and St. Louis,
St. Charles, Jefferson and Franklin Counties in Missouri; and Madison, St. Clair and Monroe Counties in
Illinois through federal grant funding from the United States Department of Transportation and the
Federal Highway Administration. For more information, visit www.ridefinders.org or call (800) VIP-RIDE.
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