CommuterPageBlog

Baby Steps towards a Carpool Commuter Benefit?

I rather enjoy riding Metro to work. In fact, I have centered my search for housing based upon the proximity to the train. However, there was a time in my life that I was known to carpool a few days a week. If you aren't the driver, carpooling gives you the same benefits that transit does. Hopefully, if you are the driver, you are able to cut your costs of the commute by splitting it amongst those you drive safely and efficiently to end destinations. Your employer may even provide a preferred parking space for you.

Commuter Connections is thinking about taking carpool benefits one step further by PAYING YOU to carpool - that's right - $2/day. The pilot program will last 3 months. After all, if a program like this can be successful in cities like Atlanta and Los Angeles, surely it can succeed in the DC region as well. Stay Tuned!

Wendy Duren is a Business Development Manager at Arlington Transportation Partners, and commutes with Metrorail daily.

Dinner With Family Made Possible By Slugging

According to our good friend David LeBlanc who runs the the wonderful, citizen-operated slug-lines.com web site, he gets emails like this all the time but this one stood out. I thought I'd share it here:

David:

Just a follow-up to let you know I started slugging on Tuesday and absolutely love it. I have met some really nice people. I can't believe I didn't switch to this mode of transportation sooner.

I now have a 25 minute commute instead of 60-90 minutes and I have much more time with my family. I actually ate dinner with them every night this week instead of a warmed up plate they left me in the oven. I will recommend this to everyone I know.

Thank you,
Melissa

Melissa had driven by a slug line and seen people holding up signs that said "610" or "17." She figured they were destinations but wasn't sure so wrote to David. He helped her out by pointing to more specific information on their web site and she tried it. Obviously from her follow-up email she's a convert. Her example shows how wonderfully the I-95/395 HOV lanes work and how how slugging is one way to utilize them. 

There are many different free carpool services that can match you up with others and many commuter buses also speed along the HOV lanes into Arlington and DC. Whichever option to driving alone, using the HOV lanes can give you more time with your family, and that's a good thing. 

Chris Hamilton is the Commuter ServicesChief for Arlington County in the Transportation Division of the Department of Environmental Services, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a Metro/biking commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.

Let's Split It!

How often do you hear that these days? Arlington Transportation Partners is joining the frugal bandwagon with their Spring Let's Split It program. If your organization is interested in helping convince employees to get out of their single occupancy vehicles more often, you might qualify.

Of course, there are the normal inherent savings that come from buying less gas, changing your car insurance to non-commute status and the regular maintenance fees that you can forgo by driving less. But this program is about saving companies money that offer a new or expanded direct-benefit (IRC 132(f)) Participating organizations could receive up to 50% reimbursement for their subsidies. To see if your company qualifies, or to learn more, contact Arlington Transportation Partners at 703-247-9299 and get started!

Wendy Duren is a Business Development Manager at Arlington Transportation Partners, and commutes with Metrorail daily.

Will More People Carpool If We Bring Park&Ride To Them?

A while back, I started a website called MyCasualCarpool.com in an effort to help people start park and ride lots in their own communities without any help from state and local governments. I started it after hearing my sister talk about how she saw the same cars on her 60 mile commute each day, and combined that with the "slugging" concept.

 

There are hundreds of churches, shopping centers that have seen better days, and other places in the DC area with large parking lots – many with hundreds of parking spaces - that are largely empty 9-5 on weekdays. Rather than VDOT building new park and ride lots, why not use the facilities we already have - facilities that are probably more convenient to most commuters than many of the VDOT lots.

MyCasualCarpool.com allows users to sign up listing their destination, schedule, and how far they are willing to travel to a park and ride lot. Another user might ask his church if he could start using the lot for commuter parking. Churches might be motivated to say yes for several reasons, including publicity and goodwill. Further, many daycare centers use church facilities. Being  able to drop their kids off at the same place as the park and ride lot would make things much more convenient for commuters who use daycare. 

Having obtained approval from the church (or other owner of a parking lot), the user proposing the lot would be able to see how many users of the site share his destination (and similar schedule) and are willing to drive as far as the proposed lot. If he determines that there are enough potential users of the lot, he can send an email to all potential users asking if they want to use the lot. When he feels the number of users has reached "critical mass," he can propose a starting date for using the new park and ride lot.

Such a system could potentially multiply the number of commuter parking spaces available, and also put more lots closer to users. People also may be more likely to engage in slugging if most of the users are from the same neighborhood.

MyCasualCarpool could be modified, or a similar site created for local users only, with a pull-down list of destinations based on present slugging drop-off points. 

I welcome suggestions and comments. In particular, how many regular users does it take to maintain an effective park and ride lot? That would provide a threshold for users proposing park and ride lots to use before asking people to begin using a new lot. Thanks in advance for your input.

 

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Kent Basson

kbasson@hotmail.com
Falls Church, Virginia

Hi-Tech Hitchhiking In Our Future?

In a post from Andrew Sullivan's blog (The iHitch, August 16, 2008) we find an idea from New Zealand about what the future could hold for instant ridesharing (High-Tech Hitchhiking, August 15, 2008, by Phil Hart, The Oil Drum). The author asks: "Have you ever stood at the bus stop watching hundreds of cars go by and wondered just how many of those cars are headed to the same place you want to go? Wouldn't it be great if you could just stick out your thumb and get a quick ride rather than waiting 10 minutes for the old bus?"

He then goes on to paint a picture of the future where technology has the ability to bring back something that use to be socially acceptable - hitchhiking. What's needed? A mobile phone, a GPS unit and a means of paying the driver a small fee - all in one device. He calls the system "iHitch." He should trademark the term now! In this world every car is a mini-bus. Mr. Hart says that by using an eBay model of 'rating' drivers and riders problems could be weeded out.

The post received a lively discussion that still seems to be going on. One problem people foresee is a myriad of government rules and regulations from taxi and transit officials. Seems these bureaucratic nightmares don't just exist in this country.

The iHitch seems to take the instant ridematching concepts of GoLoco and Goose to another level by incorporating GPS. So what do you think? Is iHitch in our future?

I say anything that helps connect people so they can share the ride is a good thing and should be supported.

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Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Chief for Arlington County, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a Metro/biking commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.

44 Seconds on Fixing Our Roadways

From the Smart Growth America blog we find a nice 44-second video that illustrates how traffic congestion can be conquered. Says the video's creator Eric De Place of the Sightline Institute:

"It's difficult to illustrate the opportunities that are available now on our roads. We don't need big expensive building projects, just smarter systems that protect both our pocketbooks and our natural resources.

It's fairly easy to make the case analytically, but it often doesn't sink in. To find that intuitive hook, I was planning an interpretive modern dance about traffic congestion. But at the last minute, we were all saved from what would surely have been an uncomfortable experience. Instead, I give you Sightline's new 44 second video on fixing our roadways."

But we knew this already, no? The visuals work though.

Enjoy.

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Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Chief for Arlington County, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a Metro/biking commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.

Greening Your Organic Shopping

How can environmentally oriented folks who want to do their grocery shopping for local meat and produce make their green practice even greener? Well, the Sierra Club's Hey Mr. Green says you can take fewer trips, ride your bike or best of all carpool and make grocery shopping an event (Thinking Outside (and Inside) the Car, June 25, 2008). Good to see the coming together of green living and green transportation. Enjoy!

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Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Chief for Arlington County, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a Metro/biking commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.

Finding FUN Local Events Made Easy...Web 2.0

By: Brandon Carroll

In today's world, life moves faster than ever. Events are constantly occurring and it is often difficult to really know what is going on around you. It seems like if you blink, it is already the end of the week.

The problem? Web 2.0. The solution? Web 2.0

Learning Web 2.0 is key to being successful in life nowadays, but from a relevant perspective, learning Web 2.0 is imperative in terms of knowing what is going on around you. It is fast, but it is also necessary in today's fast-paced world.

So, through different social networks like meetup, facebook, linkedin, myspace, twitter, et cetera, one can find out what is going on in their community.

Going green is the way to go nowadays, which makes Web 2.0 that much better. There is no paper being thrown out, no flyers being distributed - it is all online, so no paper is needed!

I advise all of you to check out the social networks listed above.

There are cool events coming up like the Arlington Community Bike Ride on June 7th -> find out more at www.bikearlington.com. Also there is an international car-free day! You will find out more about that one later :P.  The point is: rather than searching through papers and constantly getting haggled for your time, go online, save time, help the environment, and research what YOU want to research.

Anyway, my motto from now on is: "Work together for a greener tomorrow." It starts with Web 2.0.

It all starts with you. Make a difference today....

Just Say No To Hybrids in HOV Lanes

On Thursday we learned from our favorite Doctor (Hybrids in HOV Lanes, April 10, 2008, by Robert Thomson - Dr. Gridlock, Washington Post) that Virginia had extended the hybrid HOV law again for another year until July of 2009. What are these officials thinking? In their rush to prove their green bona fides are they forgetting that nothing is more green than sharing the ride? We've railed against this stupid exemption for SOV drivers in the past (The Dr. Says No to Hyrbrids in HOV Lanes, April 7, 2007) and so we'll mention it again. The HOV lanes should be for people who carpool, slug, vanpool and take public transit. Period. To do otherwise puts the lanes usefulness at risk.

In his column on Thursday, Dr. Gridlock says it best again:

"Carpoolers would love to see the solo hybrid drivers kicked out of the HOV lanes. That would definitely improve their traffic flow by returning the carpool lanes to their original purpose. The exemption allowing hybrids to join them, even though they didn't meet the passenger requirements, was intended as a temporary incentive to spur the purchase of less-polluting vehicles. But Virginia legislators have been extending the exemption year by year, well past the time an incentive was needed. They'll probably do it again next year."

It's his last line that is scary. Let's hope this mistake isn't repeated next year. HOV lane users need to say something to their legislators and end this exemption once and for all.

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Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Chief for Arlington County, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a Metro/biking commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.

Social Marketing Meets Slugging

Here's a fun YouTube video called Slugging and the Malibu. It starts out innocently enough as it asks the question "What are these people talking about?" as various interviewees talk about their Washington, D.C. slugging experience. For the un-initiated, the story builds as you begin to realize that these people are describing a form of casual carpooling that was spawned by the DC region's excellent HOV lanes.

It seems like a "how-to" video about slugging until the end, when we learn that Chevrolet put five new Chevy Malibus into the slug lines to get people's reaction to their car. Of course back seat head room, leather seats, comfort, ride and OnStar are revealed to be very important to these folks. The sluggers don't seem to mind getting a ride in a new car and in return providing an opinion. So everyone wins.

We even get to meet Mr. Slug-lines.com himself - David LeBlanc. That was a treat, as we've know David's good work for years, but had never met him. Now we feel like we know him and we've learned a little bit more about slugging in the process. Oh, and we learned a little bit more about the Chevy Malibu too. Enjoy.

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Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Chief for Arlington County, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a biking/Metro commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.