Incentives for Carpooling

As part of the effort to become a sustainable campus, the University has recently announced a new program for carpooling. Providing incentives for carpooling is the first of many ideas the University is exploring to reduce the community's reliance on single-occupancy vehicles.  Participants in the program will save money in fuel and parking rates, contribute to the improvement of local air quality, reduce traffic congestion in New Haven, decrease demand for parking on campus, and enjoy better commuting options. 

Carpooling and ride sharing were among the short-term recommendations made by Yale's Transportation Policy Committee, composed of faculty, staff and students, after their review of best practices in the field and emerging trends in alternative transportation options.

Full details of the program, which include lower parking fees, a “guaranteed ride home” feature and free parking passes, are available at http://www.yale.edu/parkingandtransit/alternatives. Parking & Transit staff members are eager to answer any questions staff may have about how the program works. There is a "bulletin board" on the website to help members of the Yale community find colleagues seeking to car pool.

Given the newness of the carpooling program and its uncertain impact on our parking system, it will initially be open to the first 300 faculty and staff to sign up.  The new incentives will also be offered to those already registered as a carpool with Yale’s parking office. If for any reason a participant in the program is not pleased, his/her parking spot is guaranteed back.

The carpool program has three primary incentives:

1. Lower Parking Fees

• For two people sharing a car, each will receive a 60% discount. Each participant will pay 40% of his or her regular parking rate. For example, Jane currently pays $100 to park and Bill currently pays $50. When they register as a Yale car pool, Jane pays only $40 per month (40% of $100) and Bill pays only $20 (40% of $50).
• For three or more people sharing a car, each will receive a 75% discount. Each participant will pay only 25% of his or her regular parking rate.

2. A "Guaranteed Ride Home" program for all carpool registrants. A free taxi ride will be provided for emergency situations such as illness of a family member, unexpected request of a supervisor to work past regular hours, or if the driver of your carpool had to leave because of an emergency, leaving you without a ride home.

3. Three free parking passes per month for each participant. Each participant will get three free entries to his or her assigned parking lot each month for days when carpooling is not convenient.

For those unable to join a carpool but who may occasionally want to share rides or vanpool to work, the website also contains information about a number of mass transportation and ride sharing options, including:

• Rideworks, a regional, non-profit organization will help you find options that best fit your needs, including a state program called Easy Street for vanpools.
• NuRide, a web-based company, allows you to enter your requirements and find others to share a ride with you on any given day.