Make your carpooling experience a great one! Read our helpful carpool tips:
Contact everyone on your matchlist. As soon as you register with the 511 RideMatch Service you'll have instant access to a list of people who live and work near you with similar schedules. Contact them! Who knows whom you’ll meet – a new friend, future business partner, or a next-door neighbor. Why not share the ride?
Cover the basics. When planning your carpool, be sure to talk about some key questions:
- How often will you carpool?
- Who does the driving and on what days?
-Do all the drivers have full insurance coverage?
- Where will you meet? Carpoolers can pick each other up at home, or meet at a mutually-convenient location, such as a Park & Ride lot.
- What time will you meet? Work schedules are often more flexible than you think.
Decide the dollars. One of our most frequently-asked questions about carpooling is how much should passengers pay. If commuters rotate the driving equally, money doesn't have to change hands, but if only one person drives, passengers generally chip in to cover the costs of gas and parking. (Figure out driving costs with our commute calculator.)
Get to know your fellow carpoolers. Carpoolers sometimes feel more comfortable meeting potential carpool partners in a neutral public place before driving together for the first time. Meet for lunch, coffee, or talk on the phone.
Establish "rules of the road." Each carpool is unique, but in all successful carpools, members have discussed:
- food, coffee, smoking and perfume;
- radios and/or MP3 players;
- cell phones and calls;
- a plan and waiting limitations for late-comers;
- who to notify if someone is sick.
Give it a trial run. Many commuters start carpooling on a trial basis, say for a month or two. Once you try it, you'll see how much you like it!
