News Releases
Long Distance Commuters Have Regional Carpool Option
For Immediate Release, 03/03/2011
Roanoke, Va., March 3, 2011 – As rising fuel prices rattle markets and make businesses nervous, families are feeling the pinch at the pump. Long distance commuters are especially sensitive to a volatile market. Commuters traveling between Martinsville and Roanoke, for example, saw their annual commuting costs increase by an average of $400 a year in just the past few weeks.
“Americans spend more on transportation costs than food, clothing, and healthcare combined,” says Jeremy Holmes, Program Director for Roanoke, Vigrinia based RIDE Solutions. “Since families are invested in their automobiles and houses and aren’t able, for example, to quickly trade in for a more fuel-efficient vehicle, finding ways to trim their transportation budget can seem daunting.”
Long distance commuters rarely have access to many options, but the RIDE Solutions program does offer an alternative. Their regional carpool database contains over 2,000 commuters coming in or going out from the Roanoke and New River Valleys, with some commuters traveling from as far away as Wytheville, Lexington, Martinsville, and even West Virginia to their jobs within Blacksburg and Roanoke. RIDE Solutions’ GIS-based ridematching system can connect commuters by origin, destination, and work schedule, and uses meeting places such as park-and-rides to help commuters find a match. Commuters are provided with a list of qualifying partners, and once they’re in the system RIDE Solutions continues looking for new opportunities to start or grow a carpool as long as a commuter remains in the database.
“An average carpooler saves over $3,000 a year by sharing a ride to work with just one other person,” says Holmes. “Carpooling is a free, simple, and almost instant way to begin saving money and protecting yourself against a volatile oil market and skyrocketing prices.”
Commuters can register with RIDE Solutions at www.ridesolutions.org, or explore bike commuting options at www.bikeroanoke.com. Registration can also be handled over the phone by calling toll-free, 1-866-424-3334.
RIDE Solutions is a sustainable transportation program operated by the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission in cooperation with the New River Valley Planning District Commission. It is a grant-funded program that provides multimodal trip planning services – including carpool matching, bicycle commute routing, transit assistance, and telework consultation - for citizens and employers in the Roanoke and New River Valley regions and surrounding areas within southwestern Virginia.
“Americans spend more on transportation costs than food, clothing, and healthcare combined,” says Jeremy Holmes, Program Director for Roanoke, Vigrinia based RIDE Solutions. “Since families are invested in their automobiles and houses and aren’t able, for example, to quickly trade in for a more fuel-efficient vehicle, finding ways to trim their transportation budget can seem daunting.”
Long distance commuters rarely have access to many options, but the RIDE Solutions program does offer an alternative. Their regional carpool database contains over 2,000 commuters coming in or going out from the Roanoke and New River Valleys, with some commuters traveling from as far away as Wytheville, Lexington, Martinsville, and even West Virginia to their jobs within Blacksburg and Roanoke. RIDE Solutions’ GIS-based ridematching system can connect commuters by origin, destination, and work schedule, and uses meeting places such as park-and-rides to help commuters find a match. Commuters are provided with a list of qualifying partners, and once they’re in the system RIDE Solutions continues looking for new opportunities to start or grow a carpool as long as a commuter remains in the database.
“An average carpooler saves over $3,000 a year by sharing a ride to work with just one other person,” says Holmes. “Carpooling is a free, simple, and almost instant way to begin saving money and protecting yourself against a volatile oil market and skyrocketing prices.”
Commuters can register with RIDE Solutions at www.ridesolutions.org, or explore bike commuting options at www.bikeroanoke.com. Registration can also be handled over the phone by calling toll-free, 1-866-424-3334.
RIDE Solutions is a sustainable transportation program operated by the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission in cooperation with the New River Valley Planning District Commission. It is a grant-funded program that provides multimodal trip planning services – including carpool matching, bicycle commute routing, transit assistance, and telework consultation - for citizens and employers in the Roanoke and New River Valley regions and surrounding areas within southwestern Virginia.
