Easy Street Goes Begging | Nearly 20 new vans sit idle, waiting for more commuters
Although gas prices are at an eight-month high, about 40 Easy Street vans sit idle in a commuter parking lot off of Interstate 91 in Windsor.
Of the 40 vans, about half are brand new and are waiting for commuters to sign up for the Easy Street vanpool program managed by The Rideshare Company, a nonprofit that promotes vanpool commuting in the Northeast, and the state Department of Transportation.
The other vans parked at the lot have reached the end of their tenure — maxing out at 100,000 miles — and are headed to auction, or are being kept aside to be used as fill-ins for the occasional van breakdown.
Since Rideshare began offering vanpools in 1987, it has seen continual growth, peppered with spikes in popularity that corresponds with spikes in gasoline prices.
So far, that pattern has continued to the current credit crisis. The number of new vanpools started in the first two months of 2008 is double the number started in the same time frame in 2007, said Nanci Fitzgerald, vice president of business affairs at Rideshare. However, the demand at this time has not outstripped its supply, evidenced by the I-91 Windsor commuter parking lot filled with Easy Street vans.
Based on Rideshare’s history, vanpools are particularly popular in a pinch. When fuel prices drop or commuters adjust to increased fuel prices, vanpool participation drops off.
Vanpool Incentives
Rideshare, which currently services 5,000 commuters in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, charges a monthly fee per passenger based on the number of miles traveled. For Joe Spada, who drives a vanpool from Southington to his job at ING in Windsor, that equates to about $162 a month.
On top of not having to pay for gas and saving wear and tear on his own vehicle, Spada also benefits from ING’s reimbursement program, which gives him an extra $45 a month to help offset the cost of his greener mode of transit.
That’s an example of the partnerships Rideshare forms with area businesses to increase awareness and participation in the program, said Fitzgerald. Through a partnership, Fitzgerald says she works with companies to create incentive plans that make Rideshare an even sweeter deal.
Tax Breaks
The state also offers a mass transit incentive with the Commuter Tax Benefit program, which allows commuters the opportunity to pay for a portion of their commuting expenses with pre-tax dollars. That results in a tax savings for Connecticut commuters and a reduced taxable payroll for Connecticut employers, according to the Commuter Tax Benefit program Web site.
Although financial factors could be the cause of a surge in van pools, other elements may factor in as well, said Fitzgerald.
When big companies decided to opt for suburban corporate sprawl instead of downtown Hartford, the Connecticut Transit Authority saw a drop in bus ridership—a void that Rideshare seemed poised to fill.
Cynthia Kulikowski, another ING employee, had been a religious bus rider prior to ING’s relocation to Windsor. When the move made traditional mass transit impossible, she turned instead to a vanpool.
Her out-of-pocket cost has remained about the same. The private bus company that shuttled her from Torrington to Hartford cost about $122.50 per month. Her van pool costs $165, and with the $45 from ING, it comes out about the same.
“I just love the convenience of it,” Kulikowski said.
The DOT is also set to boost Easy Street’s participation with a statewide marketing campaign that will begin this month and run through September, Fitzgerald said.
“Our mission is to get single-occupancy cars off the road,” she said.
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