to take action to improve air quality and reduce traffic congestion.
Vanpool
What is a vanpool? Simply put, it's a group of 7-15 people who ride to and from work together. Vendors in the region provide the vehicle, insurance and the maintenance. If you are a volunteer driver, you may get to ride for free and have personal use of the van.
Riders pay fares based on the length of the commute and the number of riders. The fee is usually much less than the cost of driving alone. The Clean Air Campaign and many transportation management associations (TMAs) offer a variety of financial incentives to help you earn money when vanpooling. You may also qualify for tax benefits.
Besides saving money, vanpooling also saves time because you can travel in the HOV lane. And letting someone else drive means less stress and time for reading, relaxing or a short nap!
Douglas County Rideshare offers vanpools traveling to downtown Atlanta, Midtown and Cumberland-Galleria. Douglas County subsidizes the cost and offers free parking at area Park & Ride lots.
The Cherokee Area Transportation System (CATS) offers vanpool service to anyone living and/or working in Cherokee County. Volunteer drivers are given personal use of the van on nights and weekends.
Enterprise, a leader in the leasing industry for over 45 years, provides vanpool service in metro Atlanta. New drivers receive the first month free along with 200 personal miles.
The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) operates the GRTA Vanpool Program. GRTA provides a seat subsidy for every month the van operates. Vanpool drivers ride for free and receive a fuel card to purchase gas.
In metro Atlanta, GRTA also operates the Georgia Vanpool Program. Drivers must be state employees, but non-state employees may participate as passengers. The Georgia Vanpool Program offers a modified group seating rate to lessen fare changes as vanpool membership changes.
MetroVanPool, a private company, operates more than 175 vanpool routes in metro Atlanta with service to and/or from 28 counties. Contact them to find out more about their services or to see if a seat is available on an existing van meeting your needs.
The easiest way to join a vanpool is by forming one at your worksite. There may be people who work with you that live near you and are looking for a commute solution.
Most vanpools are started at a worksite by a group of interested employees or tenants who live near each other and share a similar schedule. The Clean Air Campaign and the region's TMAs provide a number of incentives to save you money by offsetting the costs of starting and operating a vanpool.
Vanpools are springing up all over metro Atlanta. Just this past year, almost 50 new vanpools were created, driving in from all corners of the metro area. Why?