Rideshare Week to begin Monday

  • Published
  • By Megan Just
  • 452 AMW Public Affairs
MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, Calif. --  Sharing transportation to work benefits individuals and the community. Having fewer cars on the road reduces vehicular emissions and helps relieve traffic build-up and parking congestion. Ridesharing commuters save money on fuel, insurance and maintenance. Furthermore, those who carpool or vanpool enjoy shorter commutes because they are eligible to drive in carpool lanes.

California's annual Rideshare Week celebrates those who use cooperative means of transportation and encourages other commuters to give it a try. This year, Rideshare Week will be held Oct. 4-8.

More than 160 Team March members participated in Rideshare Week last year, which was double the number of March participants from 2008. This year, Paul Pitman, air quality manager and rideshare coordinator, hopes to see at least 180 participants.

"Rideshare Week is a once-a-year opportunity for Team March members to see how easy ridesharing can be," Pitman said. "A lot of people tell me they think vanpooling will be a hassle or that their work hours are too unpredictable, but once they give it a try, I think they'll find the benefits and cost savings outweigh any inconvenience."

Eligible to participate in March's Rideshare Week are: servicemembers in all branches of service, DOD civilians, contractors, hourly wage workers and the employees of agencies on, or adjacent to, March Air Reserve Base. As in past years, Pitman has volunteered to help coordinate ridesharing opportunities for the spouses and family members of Team March members.

By using an alternative form of transportation (vanpooling, carpooling, biking, walking, telecommuting) at least one day during Rideshare Week, you'll be eligible to enter a drawing for more than 100 prizes. The prizes were donated by area businesses and include furniture, electronics, dinner and movie packages, weekend getaway trips and gift cards with values between $50 and $250.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District supervises an air quality management plan for Orange County and the urban portions of San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Riverside Counties. Under the plan, all businesses and organizations with more than 250 employees must pay a carbon offset fee of $60 per employee. The fee is waived if the business or organization runs a rideshare program to encourage employees to use community-friendly transportation.

With more than 1,600 full-time employees at March, the base saves approximately $96,000 in fees each year with its rideshare program.

"Not only does our rideshare program help the base put more money toward mission accomplishment, we are helping the local community by improving air quality and reducing our contribution to problem traffic areas in the Inland Empire," said Col. Karl McGregor, 452nd Air Mobility Wing commander.

Since the base's first van started in April of 2005, the March rideshare program has grown to 23 vans and more than 360 registered carpoolers. The vans adjust their arrival and departure hours to meet riders' needs. Several of the vans cater to Team March members on swing shifts.

"I encourage supervisors to support employees who rideshare to work," Colonel McGregor said. "Sometimes, adjusting an employee's schedule by 15 minutes is enough to make it possible for that person to join a vanpool group. Rideshare Week is a great opportunity to test an alternate form of transportation. Try it and see if it can work for both the employee and the mission of your squadron or office."

The closest vanpool group to the base meets in eastern Moreno Valley. The vanpool groups that commute the farthest come from San Diego, Los Angeles, and Victorville.

Thanks to Riverside and San Bernardino County incentive programs, the riders in most vanpools don't have any out-of-pocket costs, including fuel. As a result, Pitman says March vanpoolers save between $1,000 to $7,000 a year, depending on the length of their commute and the type of vehicle they normally drive.

To participate in Rideshare Week, fill out the pledge form in this week's Beacon and submit it to Paul Pitman in Building 2403 by Oct. 15. Additional information is available at www.IE511.org, a website about Inland Empire commuting that was developed by the Riverside County Transportation Commission and San Bernardino Associated Governments.