You have made the decision to start carpooling, and you have your coworkers lined up. You have all discussed and produced a list of rules for the participants. Now all you must do is get your vehicle ready.
Remove Unnecessary Items
As a common courtesy to your carpool passengers, you should de-clutter your vehicle. This goes for the cabin and the trunk. Many of us accumulate items in the trunk we no longer use, or just store on the off chance we need them. Clean out these items to give your passengers more cargo space if they need to store briefcases or laptop bags in the trunk for a more comfortable ride.
The same goes for the cabin. While many of us keep our vehicles quite clean, others are not as on top of it. This is especially true for those of us with children. Your new ride mates don’t want to have old school papers, sports equipment or junk mail by their feet.
Do a Deep Clean
In addition to the clutter, consider doing a deep clean of your vehicle. Not only will this make things more pleasant for your riders, but it can be quite calming for a car owner to have a clean vehicle. Take it to a professional detailer if you really want to see your ride shine.
Make an Ongoing Organization Plan
Cleaning is the easy part, keeping your car clean can be much tougher. Once you get your car organized and tidied up, create a plan to keep it as clean and organized as possible.
A few tips to keep your car tidy from waltmasseyauto.com include:
- Vacuum up crumbs and dust once a week. A small handheld car vacuum works especially well.
- Wipe down surfaces inside the car once a week. This includes the dash, armrests, doors and the console.
- Spray cloth seats with fabric freshener a few times a week. Transporting pets or young athletes in addition to co-workers? Then consider spraying a little more often. Have leather seats? Consider using an air freshener if others are not sensitive to the scent. It can be an occasional spray or one of those that clip on the vent and keep the car smelling fresh all the time.
- Keep something to put clutter or trash into. This could be a pop-up bin or a bag that straps on the back of the seat. If you have separate containers for clutter and trash, let your passengers know. Empty them at least once a week, more often if you have stinky trash.
Plan the Carpool Route
The point of a carpool is to drive less and cut down on expenses, so plan your route ahead of time to eliminate extra miles. Map out the best path to pick everyone up in an efficient manner that cuts down on back tracking. Since every driver will be coming from a different location, create custom routes that adapt to each driver.
Maintenance
Before you start the carpool, do basic maintenance like inflating the tires, getting an oil change and topping off the fluids. After that, stay on top of routine maintenance such as tune-ups, tire rotations and alignments. Not only will this keep your vehicle safe but will help with fuel efficiency and cost savings.
