Rideshare-fact-sheet

WEST MICHIGAN RIDESHARE FACT SHEET What’s Rideshare?

West Michigan Rideshare is a program administered by The Rapid to provide carpooling, vanpooling and related options to individual commuters and employers in Kent, Ottawa and Allegan counties.

There are four components to The Rapid’s Rideshare program: n

Carpooling

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Vanpooling

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Employer Services

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Guaranteed Ride Home

What are some of the benefits of Ridesharing? n

Save money

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Preserve air quality

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Decrease traffic congestion

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Conserve fuel

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Promote better health

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Less wear-and-tear on cars

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“Car therapy” – a chance to talk with fellow commuters

How is the Rideshare program funded?

It is funded by a federal grant.

Where can we go to get more information about West Michigan Rideshare? n

On the Web at www.wmrideshare.org

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On Twitter at “wmrideshare”

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On Facebook: key in “West Michigan Rideshare”

Number of commuters registered for Rideshare: 5,105 as of July 2009.

Reasons that commuters Rideshare: The Rapid surveyed Rideshare participates this June. 700 people responded.

The number one reason cited for Ridesharing – To save money.

81% of respondents said financial savings is the overwhelming reason they rideshare.

Ridesharing saves on gas, car maintenance and parking costs. n

36.2% of respondents see a monthly savings of up to $50.

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32.2% saved $51-100 monthly.

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16.4% saved between $101 and $150 monthly.

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15% of respondents saved more than $150 monthly.

Other popular reasons for ridesharing: n

To lessen parking hassles.

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To help the environment by reducing one’s carbon footprint and help the environment.

Geographic area served by The Rapid’s Rideshare program: Kent, Ottawa and Allegan counties.

Typical Rideshare travel distance: n

About half of Ridesharers travel between 21 and 60 miles roundtrip.

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About 17% travel 61-80 miles daily.

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More than 13.2% travel 100-plus miles daily.

Area employers that offer Ridesharing as a benefit: Area employers who encourage their employees to benefit from Rideshare include: n

Amway

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Foremost Insurance

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Grand Rapids Community College

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Grand Valley State University

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Haworth

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Perrigo

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Spectrum Health

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Steelcase

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And others

Each employer’s Rideshare program matches their employees with other coworkers who share similar schedules.

Some companies offer incentives to employees who participate.

Number of people who typically Rideshare together: A car shared by two or three riders is most typical.

The “typical” Ridesharer: n

The Rapid’s Rideshare survey showed that more than 61% of Ridesharers are female.

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Of those who responded to the survey, the current age range of Ridesharers spans from ages 26 to 54. Ridesharers are people of all ages.

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The majority of Ridesharers are between the ages of 45 and 54 (30.8%) between 45 and 54.

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18.5% of survey respondents work in manufacturing.

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18% are employed in healthcare.

Can the program become bigger?

Yes. The more people in the database, the better the opportunity to fund compatible matches.

How long has Ridesharing been around?

People have been sharing rides as long as cars have been around.

The Rapid’s vanpooling program has been in place since 2002 and carpool matching program in place since 2006.

The Rapid is designated by the State of Michigan (MDOT) to administer this program for Kent, Ottawa and northern Allegan counties.

CARPOOLING West Michigan Rideshare helps commuters connect with other commuters who live or work in a geographic area or who may work for the same company.

Rideshare also helps carpoolers to finding park-and-ride lots throughout West Michigan.

Groups may even qualify for a great deal on a shared van.

Interested Ridesharers create a secure, simple online profile by answering a few basic travel questions on the Rideshare Web site; they instantly receive a list of possible matches not far from their home and work.

The Ridesharers choose whom to Rideshare with.

Is there a cost for the commuter matchmaking service?

No cost. It’s free.

More info at www.wmrideshare.org/carpooling VANPOOLING RapidVan Vanpooling offers a shared ride to work for groups of at least three to four people with similar commuting patterns.

The Rapid provides a vehicle, maintenance, insurance, 24-hour emergency roadside service, carwashes and fuel.

All costs of driving the van are included in the price.

The more passengers enrolled in a vanpool, the lower the cost per person.

The Rapid can add vanpoolers to any existing vanpool as needed to keep costs low for all individuals.

Commutes less than 60 miles each way cost $500 per month per van.

Commutes over 60 miles each way cost $700 per month per van.

RapidVan costs are divided among the participants.

The average cost per person to participate in a vanpool is approximately $85-$175 per month, based on commuting patterns, mileage, and occupancy.

Each vanpool member must also pay a security deposit or a rider deposit.

All drivers must pass a drug/alcohol screen, criminal and driving background check, USDOT health exam, defensive driving class, and provide a current State of Michigan driving license along with proof of personal insurance.

Some vanpool participants may choose to just be riders.

More info at www.wmrideshare.org/vanpooling

EMPLOYER SERVICES An organization-specific rideshare program can be developed for organizations and businesses to offer a smart, simple and sustainable approach for employees to get to and from work.

The Rapid’s Web-based software solution is customizable to meet the format requirements for your organization or company.

Individual employees can instantly find rideshare partners based on pre-set company criteria.

Employees can save up to half of their travel expenses to and from work.

The Rideshare’s Employer Van Pooling Program: Employers can subsidize vanpools for employees.

More info at www.wmrideshare.org/employer-services GUARANTEED RIDE HOME PROGRAM The Rapid’s Guaranteed Ride Home Program guarantees registered/eligible Ridesharers a ride home.

More info at www.wmrideshare.org/guaranteed-ride-home Related links n

MDOT owns and maintains the Park-and-Ride lots throughout the state. Here is a map of the West Michigan (“Grand”) region: http://mdotwas1.mdot.state.mi.us/public/carpoolpark/maps/grand.pdf

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Meijer has designated certain parking space for Ridesharing, including at least two in West Michigan: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdot/MDOT_MeijerCarpoolMap_253772_7.pdf

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Cost to commute calculator, offered by MDOT: http://mdotwas1.mdot.state.mi.us/public/rideshare/ drivingcost.cfm

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Michigan carpool program: http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,1607,7-151-9615_11228_11234-22206-,00.html

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Carpool lot statistics: http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,1607,7-151-9615_11228_11234-22209--,00.html

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Fun facts quiz on commuting, offered by MDOT: http://mdotwas1.mdot.state.mi.us/public/rideshare/ quiz.cfm

Facts n

The average U.S. consumer spends nearly 18% of his/her income on transportation. By contrast, only 13% of an average consumer’s income is spent on food.

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In Michigan, the average commuter van transports 15 commuters. The passengers riding in the van account for the removal of 14 cars from Michigan roadways.

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The average car produces a pound of pollution every 25 miles.

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Typical Americans spend over 5 times more time in their cars than they do on vacation.

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Employers and employees can receive up to a monthly tax benefit eligible towards transit and vanpool expenses related to the work commute trip.

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Over 200 million passenger cars and light trucks are used on American roads, driving almost 2 trillion miles every year.

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The American Automobile Association (Your Cost of Driving 2009) estimates commuting costs on average as $0.54 per mile to operate a vehicle (based on a vehicle traveling 15,000 miles annually), for a total annual cost of $9,055. Parking should be added on top of this calculation.

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