Tips for a Successful Carpool
Schedule a meeting. Meet your fellow carpoolers before the first trip to talk about insurance, communications and personal preferences.
Determine your route and schedule. Establish the morning pickup point(s) and designate the meeting place(s) for the trip home.
Draw up a schedule for driving responsibilities. If all members of your carpool alternate driving, decide among yourselves if you want to alternate on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
Determine how driving expenses will be shared. If the members of your carpool do not share the driving equally, come to an understanding of how the costs will be shared and agree on a payment schedule.
Establish policies and preferences. Smoking or nonsmoking; music and volume; eating or drinking, or talking, particularly in the morning. Your carpool will have a better chance for success if these potential irritants are discussed in advance.
Be punctual. Decide how long the driver is expected to wait for latecomers. Be wary of making side trips or running errands while carpoolers are present.
Choose a chain of communication. If a driver is ill, or will not be going to work one day, an alternate driver should be notified to ensure that other members of the carpool will have a ride. If a rider is ill or will not be working, the driver should be contacted.
Register! Be sure that your carpool is registered with Metro Transit and that each carpool member is enrolled in the Guaranteed Ride Home program, which offers a back-up cab, bus or train ride home in an emergency.
An agreement to pool isn't a binding contract. But if you find it isn't for you, give your pooling partners a couple of weeks' notice so they can make alternate arrangements or find a replacement.
