(climbs up on soapbox)
Today’s Daily News has a number of lead articles on the effect of high fuel prices on Los Angeles drivers. One article notes how some have abandoned their high milage vehicles (such as Ford F-150 trucks) to downsize to more fuel efficient vehicles (such as Suzuki Samuris). There is also an article on how off-road recreational usage is being hit hard; about the types of folks that buy a Prius, and about the impact of prices on schoolteachers.
I commute 35 miles, one way, to work each day. Yet I’m not thinking about moving closer to work (hell, no, I’m not moving again), nor getting a Prius, nor changing jobs. Why? I can answer that in one word: vanpool.
I’ve been in a vanpool since the early 1990s. I started just after we bought our last house, around 1991 or 1992. Most months, my cost is relatively constant: about $150 per month, less the $39 credit I receive from the company. I only drive to work on those days when my hours won’t fit the van… and even that is getting less and less, as on those days I’m more likely to just telecommute. Our company used to have one of the largest company-owned vanpool fleets in the city; they have one of the longest running programs (established in 1970). A few years ago, they outsourced the program to VPSI, which simply meant we got newer vans. The company does bulk purchases of the fuel monthly (we pay for the fuel), and provides a fuel attendant (which we pay for). VSPI leases the van to the operator and provides the insurance. The van operator determines the rate structure, usually providing discounts to those who drive. Qualified drivers can also borrow the van to run errands during the day (paying for our milage). Our company also provides a guaranteed ride home if you miss the van.
I’m one of those drivers (we have 3 on our 8 passenger van). One driver prefers to drive in; the other driver and myself split the driving home, except when someone isn’t on. Our route leaves Northridge around 5:40am; I’m at work by 6:30pm (sleeping most of the way). We leave El Segundo at 3:30pm, and I’m back home around 5:00pm (sleeping if I’m not driving; driving if I’m not sleeping). I don’t think I could live with the commute without having the van; it is one of the reasons I picked where I picked to live.
Yet, for all the discussion in the papers about the effects of fuel, all the articles about people either moving to more fuel-efficient cars or mass transit… where are the articles promoting ride-sharing. It is an ideal solution that needs to be reencouraged.
(climbs down from soapbox)
