Rideshare week sees record participation Published Oct. 28, 2009 By Megan Just 452 AMW Public Affairs MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, Calif. -- Team March carpoolers and vanpoolers gathered Tuesday with March ARB Rideshare Coordinator Paul Pitman to collect their travel mugs, a thank you gift for participating in California's Rideshare Week 2009, which ran October 5 through 9. More than 160 Team Mach members participated in the event, doubling the number from 2008. And this year, the spike in shared transportation is here to stay because the event prompted the formation of new carpool alliances and new vanpools in Rancho Cucamonga, Hemet, and two in the Temecula area. According to Pitman's Vanpool Statistics and Environmental Impact Estimates, March vanpoolers reduce March ARB's total carbon dioxide output by 50.5 tons per month. They also save 4,945 gallons of fuel and eliminate 124,614 vehicle miles on the roads per month. "A lot of people say we're not really helping the air quality, but when you stop and look at it, we really do," Pitman said. Kathy Burgo, a personnel technician with the 452nd Mission Support Squadron who attended the Tuesday gathering, is a member of the San Bernardino vanpool. "I like it [ridesharing] because I'm not putting the miles on my car," she said. Burgo also said she feels more comfortable commuting with other people, which is safer in case of a breakdown or traffic accident. Master Sgt. Pete Kelley and Mr. Derek Hanely both work at the Air National Guard's 163d Reconnaissance Wing and commute from San Diego daily. They were two of the founding members of the San Diego vanpool that began in September 2007. "It's nice to have a break from driving and the monetary savings are great," Sergeant Kelley said. The round trip from San Diego is 150 miles, and takes an hour and fifteen minutes each way if there isn't traffic. The San Diego vanpool group, which fluctuates between 9 and 11 riders, received a new van 10 months ago and they've already put 84,000 miles on it. "Because we're so far, we have to get up very early and I really like to have that extra time to sleep," said Hanely, who says he saves $500 a month by vanpooling. Monica Lewis, who works for the Air Force Audit Agency, and her husband, Aaron Rasmussen, an Army Miltech, carpool to and from work. Even though their schedules don't always line up perfectly, Lewis says she uses the extra time to go to the commissary or run errands. Their commute from Hemet is 25 miles each way. "It works really well and saves us $300 a month," said Lewis. "The ride gives us time to talk. Or, one of us can take a break or nap while the other drives." March's rideshare program operates under the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which encompasses Orange County, and the urban portions of San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Riverside Counties. The SCAQMD follows an air quality management plan they developed to comply with Clean Air Act requirements. Under the plan, all businesses with greater than 250 employees must run a rideshare program or pay a carbon offset fee of $60 per employee. "The whole thing [rideshare] derives from reducing the amount of cars and thus reducing the amount of emissions," Pitman said. "We're in the worst air district in the United States. The second closest is New Jersey." The SCAQMD states that 77 percent of the area's ozone-forming air pollution comes from mobile sources--mainly cars, trucks, and buses. With the mountains surrounding the Los Angeles basin and the constant eastward pressure from ocean breezes, an inversion is created that traps the pollutants in the area. "The air doesn't have a way to escape," Pitman said. Pitman moved from Michigan to the Los Angeles area in 1968, as a child. He remembers his eyes stinging and not being able to see the sky and that his father had to explain that smog was the cause. Now, forty years later, reducing smog has become part of Pitman's job. "It's kind of ironic," he says. Pitman started the March ARB rideshare program four years ago. The first vanpool began with a Temecula van in April 2009. There are now 12 vans. "This thing just keeps getting bigger and bigger," Pitman said to the Rideshare Week participants at the gathering Tuesday. "Had I known then what I know now, I probably wouldn't have started this up, because it's a lot of paperwork," he joked. "But it's all worth it." Being the March ARB Rideshare Coordinator is no small job for Pitman, especially considering it's not his primary job. But, with about 1,800 full-time employees at $60 a person, Pitman saves the base over $100,000 each year, and well over that amount in cumulative personal savings for participating employees. "Anybody who starts ridesharing--whether it be carpooling, vanpooling, telecommuting, walking, riding a bicycle--can earn two dollars a day for ninety days," Pitman said. This is just one of the many transportation incentives Pitman administers through county, state, and federal programs. Through Department of Transportation vouchers, there is usually no cost to the rider for vanpooling. To maintain a valid rideshare program, Pitman is required to show a reduction in average vehicle ridership each year, a statistic that examines the number of employee vehicles compared to the number of employees entering base. The more people who rideshare, telecommute, or use mass transportation, the better the ratio will be. "Right now our AVR is one to one. South Coast wants us to get to one to three. They want every car to have three riders in it," Pitman said. In addition to reducing March's AVR, Pitman is required to publicize rideshare programs, hold events such as Rideshare Week 2009, conduct an annual transportation survey, and be periodically audited by the SCAQMD. Pitman encourages Team March members to contact him about innovative rideshare transportation ideas. He's been tracking the status of the Metro train stop under construction at Perris, and can potentially reinstate the city bus that serves the base if there is enough interest. He's also exploring on-base transportation options that would make it easier for commuters to rideshare with people who don't work on base. CATCH A RIDE March vanpools are already established in cities across Southern California: Los Angeles/ Orange County Redlands San Bernardino San Diego Temecula/ Murrieta (4 vans) Victorville (2 vans) Rancho Cucamonga/ Ontario Hemet RIDESHARE INCENTIVES Through state and national government programs, employees can be paid to share rides to work. Transportation Incentive Program A federal program that gives each employee up to $230 in vouchers each month to use public transportation (including vanpools) $2 a Day Incentive A Riverside and San Bernardino County Inland Empire Program that gives new commuters $2 per day for up to 3 months Guaranteed Ride Home Program Entitles the each vanpool participant 4 times a year to get a ride home if there is an emergency or they need to work late. The employee will be given a rental car or be picked up by a taxi cab, depending on their distance from home