News

Carpooling provides savings opportunities

  • Published
  • 78 ABW/PA
Everyone knows carpooling can save energy and reduce traffic. When multiple people use only one vehicle to get to the same place, fewer resources are used. But does the money saved really make much of a difference to an individual's pocketbook?

According to the AAA, the average American's one-way commute to work is 16 miles, so most of us travel an average of 32 miles a day getting to and from our jobs. Using the commute computer at RideFinders.com, a ride-sharing portal, we found a savings of more than 50 percent for people in carpools.

Assuming a vehicle costs 59 cents a mile to operate five days a week (a typical figure under stop-and-go conditions), and travels 15,000 miles a year, the annual cost for fuel and car maintenance for an average round-trip solo work com mute is about $4,680. Split the cost among several passengers and the per-person cost plummets. For two people, the per-passenger savings is $2,340 per year. Split between three people, the per-person savings is $3,120 per year; instead of shouldering $4,680, each person pays only $1,560.

Carpoolers also can become productive for an added portion of their day.

"Instead of manning the steering wheel every day, the passengers in a carpool can spend their time doing more productive things, such as reading the news, writing, catching up on books or texting family," said John Pugh, 78th Mission Support Group deputy director and Robins carpooling advocate. "For a 45-minute commute, it's like getting another hour and a half of your life back when you're not driving."

Pugh said there is also diminished stress on a commuter, as drivers take turns sharing the burden of fighting traffic.

"If you're in a five-person car pool and everyone rotates driving duties, that's only one day a week you have to combat traffic yourself," Pugh said. "It's hard to ascribe a monetary value to decreased stress, but it's not hard to appreciate."

There are a few minor, unexpected costs associated with carpooling, but these costs can often be offset by using programs which offer cash incentives for carpooling. Two programs, the Clean Air Campaign and the Transportation Incentive Program, offer avenues for those who carpool or vanpool to make money on top of the fuel and car-wear savings they receive. Officials are also hoping to bring mass transportation options to the base.

Robins partnered with the Clean Air Campaign to give workers here a way to find carpool partners through an online registry at www.logyourcommute.org. Employees can go to the website and find people who live near them and have similar working hours.

Users of the site are also invited to log their commute mileage saved through carpooling, which makes them eligible to win cash and prizes from the Clean Air Campaign's Commuter Rewards program. Additionally, people who bicycle, walk or vanpool can log on to win awards.

The Transportation Incentive Program offers financial benefits to those who share rides in vehicles carrying six or more passengers. The federal program aims to offset commuting costs for active-duty military members and government civilian employees, as well as reduce pollution and traffic congestion, preserve the environment, and ex-pand transportation alternatives.

Most base employees are eligible for the program, both as drivers or passengers, but drivers must have a six-passenger vehicle. Passengers receive up to several hundred dollars each month, which is paid to the driver.

Signing up for the program does not obligate anyone, and people can choose to participate only two or three days per week if they wish.

To learn more about TIP, call (478) 926-7199.