Commuter Services of North Florida

I see carpooling in my future; do you?
by Bill Berlow, Associate Editor
Tallahassee Democrat (5.19.06)

Sunday afternoon, I'll meet several friends at a church parking lot to carpool to Live Oak Island, where we'll hold our monthly get-together at a beach house owned by one of our group.

It's a round trip of about 70 miles, so it only makes sense to carpool.

But like most of us here in Leon County, I'm not a regular carpooler. Not yet.

According to the 2000 Census, 13.5 percent of the people in the Leon County work force carpooled, but 79.4 percent drove alone to work.

Not surprisingly, carpooling rates were higher in outlying counties, where much of the work force commutes to Tallahassee. They are: Gadsden, 20.9 percent; Jefferson, 19.5 percent; Wakulla, 15.4 percent; Liberty, 24 percent; Franklin, 19.1 percent.

With gas pushing $3 a gallon, I suspect those percentages would be higher today, six years later. But not much. We love our cars and trucks and the freedom they give us.

I'm as guilty as anyone. Without a car at my immediate disposal, it'd be impossible to go to the gym when it suits my schedule or get to an appointment.

Even with a vehicle that averages 24 mpg, the price of gas is taking a not-insignificant bite out of my wallet. I live in Killearn Lakes and drive 160 miles a week just to and from my office. At $2.75 per gallon, I'm spending about $880 in gas to commute 48 weeks a year.

Let's do some more math.

Gas prices won't remain constant. But let's say the average cost through 2016 will be $3.75 per gallon. If I replace my 13-year-old car soon with one that averages 35 mpg, I'll still be spending almost $823 a year for gas to and from work.

If I cut my commuting costs in half by carpooling with one person and invested $411.50 a year for 10 years, figuring a very conservative interest rate of 5 percent compounded, my savings would translate into more than $5,430.

Not like winning the lottery exactly, but not chump change to most of us. Plus, it reduces traffic-related pollution and stress on our roads.

Cheap gas is probably just a memory. Until mass transit becomes available and reliable where I live, it's not even on my radar. Neither is bicycling or buying a motorcycle.

Before the most recent spike in gas prices, AAA estimated that the average cost of operating a vehicle - including insurance, maintenance, depreciation and fuel - is 55 cents per mile. That may not sound like much, but unless you drive short distances and infrequently, it adds up quickly. My annual mileage just for commuting is 7,680. At 55 cents per mile, that totals $4,224 a year.

That's enough to make me think about alternatives. I called Commuter Services of North Florida (1-888-454-7433), which operates a ride match program for people interested in carpooling. I spent less than two minutes on the phone with a customer service rep, who took some basic information.

Within 30 minutes, I received the names and numbers of four possible carpool partners. But all of them work much closer to downtown than my office on Magnolia. So I'll just wait and hope for a better match.

"All that we ask is that you not be discouraged if there's not a match right away," said executive director Jeff Horton.

Commuter Services of North Florida (www.commuterservices.org) also operates a guaranteed ride home program, which has about 500 participants.

“If, for some reason - say one of your carpool partners gets sick at 3 o'clock in the afternoon and they need to get home immediately -we'll dispatch a cab to get you a ride home,” Horton said.

Even if you live in Marianna?, I asked. Yep. And at no cost to you. The state Department of Transportation picks up the tab.

If you carpool, walk, ride a bike or use mass transit to get to work at least three times a week, you're eligible. You just have to enroll.

With the cost of driving alone getting so high and downtown bound to get even more congested, it's also time for the public and private sectors to get serious about offering incentives to people who use alternatives.

Horton said the state used to do that for carpoolers by giving them the best parking spaces. But that program was discontinued. Many “park and ride” lots - like the one that used to be at the intersection of Bannerman and Thomasville roads - also have disappeared, partly because of low participation.

But circumstances change, and with them a few minds. It's time for commuters and employers to take another look at carpooling and other alternatives modes of transportation - for the sake of our wallets and the environment.