The average Perimeter commuter lives more than 15 miles from their workplace, making them ideal candidates for joining a vanpool and deriving all sorts of great benefits.  Better yet, the Perimeter Transportation Coalition, as part of the Best Workplaces for Commuters District designation, offers a $30/month subsidy for anyone starting or joining a vanpool in the Perimeter.  Coupled with other regional vanpool benefits, this could make a vanpool free for three months, and incredibly affordable after that with the subsidy.

A vanpool is 7-15 commuters who ride to and from work together in a comfortable, new passenger van.  The drivers of the van are neighbors and co-workers who live and/or work together; they ride for free and can use the van for their personal use on evenings and on the weekend.  In addition to the $30/month bonus, the PTC also offers new commuters who join existing vanpools a subsidy equal to 3 full months of vanpool service—you can’t beat that!    

The wear and tear that a vehicle incurs from long, daily commutes is costly.  For instance, a commuter with a daily roundtrip commute of 70 miles and driving in a single occupancy vehicle is spending at least $400 monthly on gas, depreciation, and maintenance —it’s expensive to drive alone!  And this figure doesn’t even include other hidden costs such as stress, time lost in traffic, and environmental concerns. 

The benefits of vanpooling and other alternatives — less traffic, more mobility, improved air quality, and an improved quality of life — accrue to the whole community, and make life better for everyone. 

There are currently 7 vanpools in the Perimeter area—5 of which service the Perimeter Summit/Hewlett Packard area, 1 for the Glenlake corridor, and 1 for the Art Institute of Atlanta.  Collectively, they are saving more than 100 vehicle trips every day!  That’s 25,000 trips a year, and 725,000 miles saved.  Not a bad way to reduce traffic!

Visit our Vanpools page to learn more!