Gas prices cause spike in ridesharing at March Published April 22, 2011 By Megan Just 452 AMW Public Affairs MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, Calif. -- Commuting to work is a fact of life in Southern California. While some March Air Reserve Base service members and employees live in the communities that border the base, many others travel the congested Interstates from the Temecula valley and the high desert. Some even make the round-trip drive every day from cities as far as San Diego and coastal Los Angeles. But with the steep increases in gas prices in recent months, some commuters have found themselves in the position of not being able to afford the drive to work. Fortunately, March has a robust vanpool program that is a free alternative to driving to work. With each new increase in gas prices this year, March vanpool membership has grown. "It's getting crazier every day," said Paul Pitman, the base's rideshare coordinator, who receives phone calls and emails daily of new Team March members wanting to vanpool. Managing the base's rideshare program is just one component of Pitman's job as Air Manager and National Environmental Protection Act Manager with the 452nd Environmental Flight. Pitman is a member of the Rancho Cucamonga vanpool. As he drives through base, dropping his vanpool mates off at their offices, he said it's not uncommon to pass between five and seven other vans, doing the same thing. During the day, he sees vans parked in almost every parking lot on base. "If our numbers keep increasing, we could double our vanpool fleet," he said. At the end of 2010, there were 15 vans at the base. By April, five new vans had started and in May, Pitman expects six more vans to be delivered. Additionally, Team March members are gathering riders for new vans in Palmdale, Lancaster, El Cajon, Chula Vista, Rancho Santa Margarita, Covina and Fontana. Staff Sgt. Ashley Piper manages the orderly room at 4th Combat Camera Squadron. She and her fiancé moved to North Palm Springs four months ago to be midway between March and his duty station at Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center. The commute that she calls "a killer" is 50 miles each way in a car that "drinks gas." Sergeant Piper, who is expecting a baby, said she became increasingly nervous as she watched gas prices rise from $3 a gallon earlier this year. "If it hits four dollars, I'm not going to be able to afford the drive back and forth," she recalled telling a co-worker. That co-worker happened to be a member of a vanpool. The Defense Department's Transportation Incentive Program helps service members and civilian employees reduce their daily contribution to traffic congestion and air pollution by offering up to $230 in vouchers per month for those who use mass transportation to get to work, including vanpools. Additionally, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego county residents are eligible for additional monetary ridesharing incentives. The cost of a vanpool depends on the number of riders and distance of commute, but in every March vanpool, the collective amount of the riders' vouchers covers all the costs, including gas. Sergeant Piper said she was ecstatic to learn that there would be no out-of-pocket expenses for the vanpool. She signed up immediately and will be starting with the Beaumont vanpool May 1. Tech. Sgt. Jonathan Foster, an aircraft hydraulics system specialist with the 452nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, also moved recently to be closer to his fiancé. As the owner of a Chevy Silverado that averages 16 miles per gallon, gas prices were a primary concern in his move to Rancho Cucamonga, 30 miles from the base. Although Sergeant Foster lived too close to the base to vanpool before, he knew about the program and by the time he moved three weeks ago, he was signed up to ride in the Rancho Cucamonga van. Had he not been able to vanpool, he said the drive "would have increased my cost for gas and maintenance and thereby, I'd have less money for other things." One of those things is the August wedding he and his fiancé are paying for themselves. Even though the Rancho Cucamonga van leaves the base an hour after Sergeant Foster gets off work, he says the benefits outweigh the inconvenience. "I turn that time back into a plus by working out or reading," he said. Tech. Sgt. Arnaldo Ibarrientos has been a reservist at March since 2008. He accepted a full-time position as an air reserve technician with the 452nd Maintenance Operations Squadron three months ago. His commute is about 70 miles and takes an average of 70 minutes in the morning and 95 minutes in the afternoon. In addition to the fuel usage and more frequent oil and tire changes, he said he worries about the mileage and wear and tear on his car and tires. The commute was so burdensome that he and his wife were considering moving, even though it meant leaving his wife's family's network of support. But then he learned about the Orange County/Los Angeles vanpool. He joined last week and now enjoys the flow of the carpool lane during the commute. "It saves a lot of time, especially down the 91," he said. "It's really congested and there's a lot of stop and go." In the time he saves by not driving every day, he now does college coursework on his laptop or takes naps. He said vanpooling has also given him an opportunity to meet and network with other people around base and learn about their jobs. Most of all, though, he enjoys the $350 a month ($4,000 a year) he saves. "It's nothing out of my pocket. The travel vouchers are a great thing," Sergeant Ibarrientos said. Paul Pitman calculated that March ridesharers saved a total of $686,000 in gas last year, but individuals are not the only ones who save money by vanpooling. All businesses and organizations in the South Coast Air Quality Management District with more than 250 employees that do not have a rideshare program must pay a yearly carbon offset fee of $60 per person. With approximately 1,600 full time employees, the March rideshare program saves the base approximately $96,000 each year. The environmental savings are great, as well. Pitman said March ridesharers collectively reduced 11 tons of hydrocarbons, 90 tons of carbon monoxide, six tons of oxides of nitrogen and 1,700 tons of carbon dioxide last year. Putting this into perspective, Pitman said the amount of oxides of nitrogen saved was twice the amount the base puts out from all of its stationary sources combined. "We're in the worst air quality district in the United States, but all the ridesharers here at March are doing their part," Pitman said. "In addition to reducing the emissions, we're reducing the amount of fossil fuel that we use, which, in turn, reduces the greenhouse gasses expended in the production of gasoline." The members of the 912th Air Refueling Squadron, March's new active associate unit, who have been trickling to base since the squadron stood up last fall, have been wasting no time partaking in the benefits of the vanpool program. "I've been telling everyone how great it is," said Staff Sgt. Nathan Filson, an Aircrew flight equipment technician who reported at the end of January. In moving from his previous duty station to March, Southern California gas prices concerned him and his wife. On April 17, regular gasoline averaged $4.17 in Riverside and San Bernardino, according to the American Automobile Association's Fuel Gauge Report. This is 36 cents higher than the national average and $1.16 higher than the Riverside and San Bernardino average a year ago. "There's no way I could afford $4 a gallon," Sergeant Filson said. "Finding out about the vanpool definitely made the decision easier to live in the location we wanted." In their case, that location was Menifee. The members of his vanpool take turns driving and when he's not behind the wheel, Sergeant Filson said, "I put my headphones on and go to sleep." Although 130 of March's 160 registered ridesharers are vanpoolers, there are benefits available for employees who carpool to work. The Riverside County Transportation Commission and San Bernardino Associated Governments run a joint IE511 website that connects future ridesharers. Additionally, Paul Pitman (951-655-5062) maintains a list of Team March members who are interested in starting a vanpool or finding carpool partners. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and information.