Carpooling, Vanpooling, HOV Lanes
Save gas, save money, save time, save aggravation, save the environment.
By sharing the ride, carpoolers save money on fuel, insurance, and car maintenance. Carpooling can also reduce time spent on the road, because carpools can use High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes. When they're not behind the wheel, carpoolers can read, nap, or chat during their commute, reducing stress. And carpooling helps reduce air pollution, traffic congestion, and greenhouse gas emissions.
There's more than one way to carpool.
Many carpools are formed when neighbors or coworkers simply decide to ride to and from work together. But that's not the only way. Because of the many benefits of carpooling, employers, local governments, and private sponsors offer tools and incentives to encourage carpooling.
Join or Start a Carpool or Vanpool With Commuter Connections
Commuter Connections is a network of Washington, D.C.-area transportation organizations coordinated by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG). Commuter Connections now offers two great ways to find a carpool. To have Commuter Connections match you to a carpool, use the online Commuter Connections Program Application Form. (You can sign up for the Guaranteed Ride Home Program using the same form.) Or, check out the Commuter Connections Commuter Bulletin Board to browse the well-organized postings from other commuters, or to post your own message. To learn more about Commuter Connections, go to www.mwcog.org/commuter/ccindex.html.
GoLoco
GoLoco is an online service that helps people quickly arrange ride sharing between friends, neighbors, and colleagues. We also handle online payments from passengers to drivers for their share of the trip costs.
 You can use GoLoco to share rides for free. Or you can choose to share trip costs quickly and easily online before the trip without the awkward money discussion or exchange in the car. GoLoco collects each passenger's share of the total trip costs before the trip begins and transfers it to the driver using online accounts. GoLoco charges a 10 percent transaction fee. For more information, visit www.goloco.org.
NuRide - Earn Rewards for Sharing the Ride
The NuRide network not only helps you find someone to share the ride - you also earn rewards points every time you use it. And there's no ongoing commitment - you can use the NuRide network every day, or once in a while. If you already belong to a carpool, you can still sign up with NuRide to earn rewards for what you're already doing. Rewards are based on a points system called "NuRide Miles" - like frequent flyer miles. You can redeem your NuRide Miles for gift cards and gift certificates from restaurants and national retailers. To learn more, go to www.nuride.com.
Catch a Free Ride at the Slug Line
An interesting side effect of HOV lanes has been the establishment of unofficial carpool-formation areas called "slug lines." Commuters catch free rides with drivers who need additional riders to be able to use the HOV lane along their route to and from work. More about slug lines.
Guaranteed Ride Home - When the Unexpected Happens
Once you're carpooling, you can sign up for the Commuter Connections Guaranteed Ride Home Service for free taxi rides home when the unexpected happens. The Guaranteed Ride Home Service is also available to commuters who use other commuting alternatives, such as public transportation or bicycling. You can use the online Commuter Connections Program Application Form to apply for the Guaranteed Ride Home service. More about Guaranteed Ride Home.
Using Your Metrochek Benefit to Vanpool
Metrochek is a farecard voucher program provided as an employee benefit by more than 2500 public and private employers in the Washington, D.C.area, including the federal government. Many vanpool service providers accept Metrochek. For a list of participants, see Metro's Metrochek Participants page. For more information about the Metrochek program, see the What is Metrochek? page.
Other Resources
Can't imagine surviving all day at work without your car close by? Don't forget that there are many other ways to get around the D.C. area, including the Metro system, local bus systems, carsharing, and taxis.
Find out how much time you can save by carpooling in Northern Virginia using the Virginia Department of Transportation's online HOV calculator. Also includes HOV rules, park and ride lots, and an interactive map of HOV lanes.
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