Bringing You Home With Vanpool: Real People, Real Stories.

Shawn shares his story on the benefits of being a Vanpool rider

Bringing You Home with Vanpool from Community Transit on Vimeo.

You've seen them, the Community Transit vanpool vans, whizzing by you in the carpool lane. If you dread your commute each day, riding in a vanpool may be just the ticket for transforming your commute into one you actually enjoy. Meet Shawn, who joined his first vanpool ten years ago, relying on the service through graduate school and his professional life.

A vanpool is a group of 5-15 riders who commute to the same work place. Each vanpool van sets its own schedule and route. Fares are based on the size of the van and the daily mileage, and cover all gas, maintenance and insurance. Shawn's van seats 12 riders, though 15 riders take advantage of the service and rotate seats. By riding a van, not only are commuters saving money, they're saving space on the highway, which means saving the environment. Shawn says, "There are the obvious cost benefits, and avoiding the wear and tear on your own vehicle. And then there's the other benefit of doing something good for the environment, knowing that there's not 12 cars on the road and instead you're all combining into one."

Each day Shawn's round trip to and from work is about 50 miles and takes about 40 minutes. That's 40 minutes to carve out a little time in a busy life. How does Shawn spend his time? Reading, working, and, yes, napping. "Sometimes you get to take a nap. That's always a great thing, especially if you didn't get a good night's sleep. I have a little child and sometimes my sleep's not the best and you can catch up."

When you're not getting a little shut eye or catching up on work emails, you might be surprised at how commuting with coworkers helps you feel more connected to your community. "You get to meet a lot of people, people that you wouldn't normally have a conversation with. When I was going to school I found a lot of people that joined the van I then ran into in class. It helps make things feel a little bit smaller being in a big city like Seattle."

Shawn also enjoys the benefits of transit outside of work hours. "Occasionally I'll take the bus downtown. The price of parking has gotten pretty high. If there's a Mariners game it's anywhere from $30 - $40, and if you can take the bus you don't have to worry about that." Shawn and his wife also take their young child on bus outings, "When you don't have to worry about driving, you can all just be present with each other."

Let us make it easy for you to get to work and bring you home with Vanpool. Our Community Transit Vanpool Program coordinators provide support for group formation, driver orientation, vehicle maintenance and rider recruitment. In other words, when you're ready to take advantage of our vanpool program, they'll work hard to make it happen.

If you could get out from behind the wheel on your commute, what would you do with your free time?

Vanpool Commuter Saved Nearly $2,400 in 2017

Commuting from Lynnwood to Bellevue every day is no easy feat, but Kevin Crader has been doing it for 17 years without driving alone. His efforts save him thousands of dollars every year, and has twice earned him the title of Curb the Congestion Champion of the Quarter. 

Smart Commuter Rewards and Curb the Congestion are two Community Transit programs that target large employers and the most-congested corridors to reduce drive-alone trips. In 2017, these programs combined removed 338,047 drive-alone trips from our roads and prevented 7.2 million pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the air we breathe.

• Smart Commuter Rewards is an incentive program that helps large businesses motivate employees to reduce their drive-alone trips to work.

• Curb the Congestion promotes smart transportation options to residents and employees on six of Snohomish County’s most congested corridors. 

These innovative transportation demand management programs are offered in addition to Community Transit’s bus, vanpool and paratransit service to help reduce traffic congestion and pollution, and encourage healthy travel options.

Each quarter Community Transit recognizes standout participants who are dedicated to smart transportation choices. Congratulations to the award winners for the 4th Quarter of 2017!

Smart Commuter of the 4th Quarter 2017

Paul Grasser of Poulsbo reduces his commute-related stress by combining teleworking with transportation via ferry, bus and walking to get to his job at Premera in Mountlake Terrace.

Commuting this way has saved him time, money and stress for more than 21 years and he is proud of the example that he is setting for his environmentally conscious daughter. In 2017, Grasser saved 6,158 drive-alone miles, more than $1,500 and prevented 4,031 pounds of CO2 from entering our air.

Watch a video of Grasser telling his own commuting story here.

Each quarter, participants in the Smart Commuter Rewards program who use a commute alternative an average of four days a week are eligible to submit a nomination for Smart Commuter of the Quarter. Four quarterly winners are selected by a group of Employee Transportation Coordinators who volunteer on the Community Transit Peer Advisory Board. That board also selects the Smart Commuter of the Year from the quarterly winners.

Curb the Congestion Champion of the 4th Quarter 2017

An advocate for transportation options, Kevin Crader has taken a bus or vanpool from his home in Lynnwood to his job at CH2M Hill in Bellevue for 17 years, and shares his positive experiences with his coworkers. 

Crader, who was honored as a Curb the Congestion Champion of the Quarter in 2016, says that commuting in this way allows him more time to focus on his family and his personal life, making him happier and less stressed. In 2017 he saved 7,356 drive-alone miles, almost $2,400 and prevented more than 6,000 pounds of CO2 from entering the air we breathe.

Watch Crader explain how he does it -- and why his fellow vanpoolers try not to be late... or maybe they do?

To learn more about how Community Transit’s transportation demand management programs work with individuals and businesses, and to start receiving rewards for your smart transportation choices, please visit www.communitytransit.org/programs/choice-connections.