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| REAL COMMUTERS'
SUCCESS STORIES |
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| Sharon, Fairfield |
I found my carpool partner through 511 Rideshare in January. The stress and the expense of driving were cut in half.
When the price of gas rose, we checked RideMatch to add additional people to our carpool. In July, we added two new people. We’re pleased to cut our commute expenses by 75 percent.
Now, my husband and I enjoy a dinner out each week on the gas and toll savings. It’s working out just GREAT! |
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| Bay Area Commuter |
My carpool partner and I started commuting together a year ago this month. I was hesitant since the only people I had ever carpooled with were friends; this was someone I didn’t know. We met for lunch and agreed to try it out for a week or so. Once we started, we found that we get along very well—our birthdays are even a few days apart!
We’ve become great friends! It’s nice to know that you can look forward to having someone to talk to when you’re stuck in traffic for an hour. |
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| James, Bay Area Commuter |
I’m doing something to improve our environment by carpooling—reduce global warming, reduce S.F Bay Area pollution, decrease traffic, save commute time and fuel expense. All of these are reasons that motivate me to carpool. |
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| William, Bay Area Commuter |
As gas prices rise, I decided to find a carpool partner. I searched online and compared each program. I found 511 Rideshare’s program to be the best. It’s easy to use and FREE. After registering, I immediately found several matches.
I will save a lot of money by carpooling. Thanks 511 Rideshare for providing me with this convenience. |
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| William, Fairfield |
I began using Rideshare after starting employment with a new job in Fairfield. I dreaded paying the high cost of gas and bridge tolls for my daily 112-mile commute. After I learned of 511 Rideshare, I signed up for RideMatching and found two carpool partners. And, before I started carpooling, another person was added our carpool.
I L-O-V-E my carpool! I get to work on time and leave the same time everyday. If someone can't make it, we still have enough passengers to cross the bridge toll free and use the HOV lanes.
Best of all, I get to snooze! Thus far, my brief “snorks” have woken me and stopped me from going into a full snore. I'm hoping that if and when I go full snore, I won't be left on the side of the road! |
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| Gilda, Marin County |
I expect 511Rideshare is getting a lot more web traffic than ever before with the price of gas rising! You have a great resource to help Bay Area commuters lessen its dependence on gasoline, and we need more people to use it. |
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Cecily Joseph
Director, Corporate Responsibility
Legal & Public Affairs
Symantec Corporation |
| With the help of 511 Rideshare Employer Services, Symantec has been able to evaluate its Bay Area employees’ commute patterns as part of an overall commitment to be environmentally responsible and reduce our carbon emissions. We realized that offering employees commute options help us meet our environmental goals as well as improve our employees' quality of life. We have been able to offer employees valuable choices through providing alternative transportation options such as: carpooling, public transportation incentives, an on site biking club and most recently, a launch of our employee shuttle service. |
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| Lola Ferguson, Fairfield |
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We have had a van from Fairfield/Vacaville to Richmond since 1984 (26 years continuously with the exception of 2 years). We have had different co-coordinators, different drivers, different passengers and different vans. One passenger has been there since the very beginning, Jeanette. Jeanette is in her early 50’s now. There are nine of us, all women, all between the ages 50-55, except for the Baby Jackie and the Mother Lillie. The baby is 40 with young children, she keeps us entertained and reminds us of how wonderful it is to be middle aged with no kids. We don’t know exactly the age of the Mother but she looks very young and attractive and maybe somewhere in her 60s. The Mother tells us how we should treat our spouses, how we should treat other people; how we should do everything, she reminds us that we don’t know everything and are still learning.
With seven of us going through the big M; we make up quite the group. Our conversations range from the best recipe, to the cutest grandbaby anecdote, to the most annoying spouse. Most importantly we strive to keep the van temperature comfortable. We are HOT, we take off our coats, we turn the heat down, then we are cold, we put on our coats and turn the heat up, then we are HOT again. But the greatest blessing is that we are all friends, we get along, we love each other, we laugh at each other; we spend 350 hours a year sitting hip to hip or within a foot of each other. We know each other very well. |
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Robert Han, Fremont |
I live in Fremont and work in Sunnyvale, and I spent two months but could not find a carpool partner. Then I registered in 511.org, and the next day, I got a phone call asking me if I would carpool with him. He said he lived in Fremont and worked in Sunnyvale too, so we talked further and found our schedules were very similar. When we exchanged names, we found we were next-door neighbors! Ha Ha Ha! |
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Shinnette C. Mays, Stockton |
The other morning at 5:45am we're loading the van, the driver gets in, starts engine and says, "Oh Man, I forgot My teeth.” Yes, he was serious. We had to run by his house to pick them up... You could hear passengers laughing for about 30 minutes after that. |
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SF Bay Area 
