What are some signs your company might be a good fit for a vanpool program? If you’re not quite ready for a shuttle service but still want to make it easy for employees to get to and from the office. If you’re in an area that’s relatively removed from public transit, or a majority of your employees live in areas that don’t have a lot of options. If you don’t own your building’s parking and are paying per space.
If any or all of those scenarios apply to you, you might be a great fit for a vanpool program! Vanpooling can be one of the most cost-effective commuting options for your team because it saves time and money, improves mental wellbeing, and reduces carbon emissions — here’s how.
Give time back
Vans have a need for speed when they can take advantage of HOV lanes during rush-hour traffic in the mornings and evenings. Similarly to bikers in bike lanes zooming past cars sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic, vanpoolers will glide on by all of the SOV drivers.
Not only will you be able to get to work faster, but you’ll get home faster and have more time for your life, which is pretty high on most employees checklist. And showing employees that you care about their time in and out of the office will actually produce more productive workers who are willing to put in the extra time and effort when needed.
Your team will feel valued because you’re providing useful commuter resources that make sense for the lifestyles of your employees. An office located in a less transit accessible area needs to be more creative about how they can help their staff get to and from the office, and vanpooling is definitely one very viable option.
Get that cash money
Employees can benefit from up to $270/month in pre-tax dollars starting in 2020, when they participate in a vanpooling program. They’ll save on gas (which can cost the average commuter about $70/month), maintenance fees (which can be anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars a year), insurance fees, and tolls (vanpools ride toll roads for free).
The company will also save money by removing the need for additional parking. A vanpool system decreases the number of vehicles coming to your office, so if you are paying for each parking space individually then you’ll save big. Additionally, if you’re about to expand your workforce and don’t want to add a ton of extra spaces, vanpooling can be the perfect solution to make the best use of your available space!
Speaking of relief…
Not having to be behind the wheel day in and day out helps people become clear-headed before and after work. One of the biggest stressors workers experience daily is their commutes. Multiple studies have shown sitting in traffic specifically on the way to work makes employees stressed before they even sit down at their desk — affecting their focus and organizational skills throughout the workday.
Putting in the time, money, and effort to create a better employee experience in and out of the office will help strengthen your team’s dedication and work ethic. Supporting your staff is one of the biggest motivators, because they’ll care more about their contribution to a company that cares about them.
Take a greener step
Each passenger in a van represents one fewer car in traffic, which is where cars contribute the most pollutants. Your vanpooling program can be customized to the size of your company — a van can hold anywhere from 4-15 riders, so you have flexibility to determine how many vans makes sense for you. Think about how many individual drivers that takes off the road!
Take a town like Los Angeles, one of the highest polluting cities in the world where drivers spend more than 100 hours driving during peak travel times alone! While the city already has a very aggressive environmental plan in place, getting any individual commuter out of a car will help.
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Getting started with vanpool? There are multiple ways to do so! You can go it on your own by contacting an Enterprise representative. You can also get additional help by reaching out to your city’s vanpooling program, which will work with you to find the number of vans you need, which route works best, and more! The best part is these programs work on a month-to-month commitment, so your plan can grow with you and your company.
