Not a fan of traffic congestion? Then imagine a world where you see merely dozens of large passenger vans instead of hundreds of cars on the road during your daily commute. In that vehicle utopia, not only would the trek to work be less stressful, but the lack of bumper-to-bumper traffic would mean fewer vehicle emissions and, in turn, cleaner air.
While it may never be possible to fully achieve that scenario, you can find four or more co-workers to start a vanpool. By getting together with co-workers who have similar schedules and travel in the same direction to get to and from work, you can save big on commute costs and help reduce the number of vehicles on your commute.
Remove four or five vehicles from the road and that leads to a big reduction in emissions. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.
In addition to savings on gas, maintenance and parking, vanpool subsidies may be available. PAG offers a subsidy to eligible commuters to reduce the monthly van lease fee. All vanpools receiving a subsidy are required to collect and report travel and expense data.
Employers can offer their own subsidy to corporate vanpools to lower commute costs even further.
PAG partners with Commute with Enterprise to offer vanpool leasing and vehicle maintenance services. The monthly lease covers all scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, commercial grade insurance and loaner vans if extended service or repairs are needed. Enterprise provides new, reliable vans with air conditioning to provide a comfortable ride for the commute.
Employers with corporate sustainability values and goals can benefit by embracing a vanpool program because it supports cleaner air and less congestion on roadways.
Please remember to take Covid-19 health and safety precautions when using shared modes of travel.
For more information on how to set up a vanpool or to find out if you are eligible for a subsidy, contact Mary Carter, PAG Director of Partnerships & Development, at (520) 495-1424 or mcarter@pagregion.com, or Rick MacNeal, Commute with Enterprise, at (520) 320-2172 or rick.macneal@ehi.com.
