Ridesharing Growing Dramatically

More and more residents of West Michigan are choosing to share a ride—and the costs—to get to work. The Rapid's RapidVan program has reached its annual capacity, ending the year with 21 vanpools on the road. At the beginning of 2006, there were six vanpools in operation.

Similarly, use of GreenRide, The Rapid's on-line carpool matching software, has grown tenfold as compared to the old phone-based registration system. There are nearly 1,000 registrants in the on-line database, all actively using or searching for carpools. Due to the volume of interest in ridesharing, a new on-line tool will link the carpool and vanpool programs so area residents can easily see all available alternatives to driving alone.

The GreenRide carpooling program is free to area residents in Kent, Allegan, Ottawa and Muskegon counties. GreenRide provides immediate results to carpool match queries and personal information is kept confidential. Spectrum Health, Metro Health Hospital, and Foremost Insurance all have custom portals for their employees, which allow the option of limiting matches to within the organization.

The RapidVan program is available to commuters entering Kent, Allegan, and Muskegon counties. RapidVans include fuel, insurance, maintenance costs, and inside and outside carwashes. Currently, many of the vehicles are commuting in excess of 50 miles one-way into or around West Michigan. "We are thrilled with the growth we've seen," commented Mary Ann Ferris-Young, Business Transportation Service Coordinator at The Rapid. "People are clearly more comfortable with the idea of sharing a ride and we have put the tools in place to help them."

[EXLINK '407']Ridesharing[/EXLINK] is an effective way for commuters to save money while reducing traffic congestion, emissions, and fuel use.