Team Robins members eligible for incentives by carpooling to work Published Oct. 4, 2007 By Amanda Creel 78th ABW/PA Robins Air Force Base, Ga. -- As gas prices continue to soar, many drivers are looking for ways to keep their tanks full without emptying their wallets. Some Team Robins members will soon have a new option to explore when it comes to commuting to and from the base each day for work. Members of the Robins Environmental Management division are joining with the Georgia Department of Transportation and the Clean Air Campaign to help curb the costs while helping the environment. Information about how to not only save gas by carpooling, but to earn incentives for participating will be available at a transportation fair at Bldgs. 640 and 645 Wednesday and Thursday from 6 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Members of the environmental management team said members of the Robins community who are interested in participating but work elsewhere on the base are encouraged to contact the Environmental Management division for more information. Michael Halicki, communications director for the Clean Air Campaign described Robins as "a critical partner" in the programs success in the Middle Georgia area. The campaign and the Georgia DOT consider the partnership so important the pair is offering cash incentives to employees who take advantage of carpooling. "We are putting money on the table," Mr. Halicki said. He said the campaign has found that members who are offered incentives to carpool usually stick with carpooling long after the incentives have expired. "The Clean Air Campaign and the Georgia Department of Transportation have done an excellent job promoting carpooling in Atlanta," said Heidi Schwingle air quality program manager with the Environmental Management division. "Our demographics here are quite different than those in a metropolitan area, but we still have personnel commuting from outlying counties and we are excited to initiate carpooling on a small scale to see how Robins Air Force Base can further improve air quality and reduce traffic congestion. As we monitor the success at Bldg. 640 and Bldg. 645, we will be able to make an informed decision concerning a base-wide carpooling program." According to Mr. Halicki, Robins employees will be the first location outside the confines of Metro Atlanta to be offered the benefits for choosing to carpool. She added there will also be numerous benefits to the base community by improving air quality, reducing fuel usage, traffic congestion and parking issues. "We are offering some real incentives to help encourage people to change their behaviors," Mr. Halicki said. Some of the incentives that will be discussed at the transportation fair include commuter prizes, which allow carpoolers and vanpoolers the opportunity to log their efforts on www.logyourcommute.com. Each month commuters logging their efforts will be entered in a random drawing where they have chance to receive a $25 gift card. Another incentive program is the carpool rewards program where carpools of three or more people are eligible for a $40 gas card each month and carpools of four or more are eligible for a $60 gas card each month. The incentives being offered through the Clean Air Campaign could be beneficial both to those already carpooling or those looking to start, said Becky McCoy, chief of the Environmental Management division. Those interested in carpooling will also have the opportunity to use a ride match program where Robins employees will be able to enter their address and work schedule and be matched up with others interested in carpooling. Along with some of immediate incentives the environmental management team is working on other incentives for the future such as the guaranteed ride home program, where carpoolers are eligible for a free taxi ride or rental car fives times a year to return home in the event of an emergency and for designated parking spaces for carpoolers on the base.