Created in 1994, RideFinders is the St. Louis regional commuter rideshare program operated by Madison County Transit to improve air quality in the nine-county region by reducing traffic congestion through carpooling and vanpooling. Funding for RideFinders is provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration.

Carpooling is simply sharing a ride in your personal vehicle with at least one other person. The extra person(s) can be a family member, friend, co-worker, or anyone who is willing to share the ride and help reduce traffic congestion on the road.

A vanpool is a group of 5 or more commuters who share the ride to and from work in vans provided by RideFinders for a low monthly fare. Each commuter serves in one of these three roles:

• Primary Driver: May receive a FREE commute in exchange for driving, fueling, and administering the vanpool.
• Back-up Driver: Rider who drives the vanpool when the primary driver is unable to drive.
• Riders: Pay a low monthly fare covering the total monthly vanpool operating cost.

• Be 25 years of age
• Been licensed for a minimum of 3 years and have a current MO or IL driver’s license (exception: Military)
• Never had a DUI or Driving While Impaired conviction
• Never had a hit and run conviction
• Has had no more than 2 moving violations within the past 3 years
• Has had no more than 1 at-fault accident within the past 3 years
• Driving on a suspended license is given consideration if it was more than 5 years ago (driver is required to document incident details for staff determination)
• Driver’s License revoked will be considered if the violation was more than 5 years ago (driver is required to document incident details for staff determination)
• Never convicted of eluding the police
• Has current insurance and has maintained insurance for the previous 3 years
• Never been convicted of vehicular homicide
• Never violated a school bus stop sign
• No motor vehicle felony offenses

RideFinders works with employers, colleges, trade schools, municipalities, government and military facilities, and virtually any other type of organization wanting to help their commuting employees connect with reliable transportation to and from work.

No. The GRH must originate from work or college.

Employer partners who provide a point of contact or ETC assist with developing opportunities to increase connections for carpools and vanpools, as well as providing GRH vouchers on site.