News Releases
Employers Have Access to Transportation Alternatives
For Immediate Release, 01/22/2007
Roanoke, VA. – RIDE Solutions, the regional carpool matching service that has served the region since 2001 and recently expanded into the New River Valley, announces its new RIDE Solutions Workplace program. Through it, employers can take advantage of RIDE Solutions’ free carpool matching services for their employees. An active carpool program can help to reduce traffic and free up parking around a business to provide easier access for customers, reduce employee absenteeism, provide employees a way to save money on their commuting costs, and improve the environment. RIDE Solutions has always offered support to local businesses, but the emphasis in the past has been on working with individual commuters. That focus is changing.
Jeremy Holmes, the Program Director for RIDE Solutions, states that “Reducing transportation demand in the region is an easy way to handle transportation problems while also saving money and improving the environment, but many workers are wary of changing their commuting habits without the support of their employers. Becoming a RIDE Solutions workplace is an easy, cost-free way for employers to help their employees while also contributing to the health of the region.”
RIDE Solutions uses an advanced computer mapping system to match potential carpool partners based on the their origin, destination, and work schedules. It provides, free of charge, all the materials, training and support a business needs to establish a carpool program, and maintains the program once started. Any business located in RIDE Solutions’ service area – which includes the Roanoke and New River Valley regions, including Franklin and Alleghany Counties – can take advantage of the program. Though RIDE Solutions will continue working with individual commuters, it has identified the need to work with employers as key to the success of its mission.
“Regional cooperation is really the key,” noted David Rundgren, Director of the New River Valley Planning District Commission, which provides the coordinator for RIDE Solutions in the NRV. “The more employers that get involved, from all across the region, the closer we get to building the critical mass needed to successfully generate carpool matches. This is truly an opportunity for businesses to work together to help employees and customers, while they dedicate themselves to sustainable transportation in the region.”
RIDE Solutions is a carpool matching and alternative transportation service funded in part by local governments and a grant from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transit. It's a service of the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission and the New River Valley Planning District Commission. The program’s goals are to reduce fuel consumption and limit ground-level ozone generated from vehicle emissions by reducing the number of single-occupant vehicles on the road through encouraging the use of carpools, public transit, biking and walking. Businesses can call 1-866-424-3334 or visit www.ridesolutions.org to learn more about becoming a member.
Jeremy Holmes, the Program Director for RIDE Solutions, states that “Reducing transportation demand in the region is an easy way to handle transportation problems while also saving money and improving the environment, but many workers are wary of changing their commuting habits without the support of their employers. Becoming a RIDE Solutions workplace is an easy, cost-free way for employers to help their employees while also contributing to the health of the region.”
RIDE Solutions uses an advanced computer mapping system to match potential carpool partners based on the their origin, destination, and work schedules. It provides, free of charge, all the materials, training and support a business needs to establish a carpool program, and maintains the program once started. Any business located in RIDE Solutions’ service area – which includes the Roanoke and New River Valley regions, including Franklin and Alleghany Counties – can take advantage of the program. Though RIDE Solutions will continue working with individual commuters, it has identified the need to work with employers as key to the success of its mission.
“Regional cooperation is really the key,” noted David Rundgren, Director of the New River Valley Planning District Commission, which provides the coordinator for RIDE Solutions in the NRV. “The more employers that get involved, from all across the region, the closer we get to building the critical mass needed to successfully generate carpool matches. This is truly an opportunity for businesses to work together to help employees and customers, while they dedicate themselves to sustainable transportation in the region.”
RIDE Solutions is a carpool matching and alternative transportation service funded in part by local governments and a grant from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transit. It's a service of the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission and the New River Valley Planning District Commission. The program’s goals are to reduce fuel consumption and limit ground-level ozone generated from vehicle emissions by reducing the number of single-occupant vehicles on the road through encouraging the use of carpools, public transit, biking and walking. Businesses can call 1-866-424-3334 or visit www.ridesolutions.org to learn more about becoming a member.
