• Metro Art Tour • Help Omnitrans "Stuff a Bus" New research gives insight into why people carpool and why they drive alone. And, it turns out, the #1 motivator for sharing the ride is... Full story » More Events » Art tours...transit apps...bus makeovers...here's what's happening in transit. Full story » Many worksites raffle prizes to rideshare participants—but it's not just what you give away, but how you do it that matters. You're wasting the money you spend on prizes unless you make sure your rideshare program is benefitting in some way. That said, prizes can be a hugely successful motivator to get employees to participate in the program. Here, ETCs offer up their favorite ideas Get the latest Rideshare Thursday news for getting the most from prize drawings. by liking them on Facebook at Full story » facebook.com/RideshareThursday • Reporters take home Golden Pylons • Guess who can continue to drive solo in carpool lanes? • Rideshare Week gets commuters out of their cars • VCTC wows with ad campaign Get news geared to commuters that you c • Don't let shopping stop your ridesharing an forward to employees or incorporate into your own rideshare newsletter. Full Story » Although the vast majority of Southland commuters drive alone to work, perhaps there's hope for change. That's because more than half of commuters (55%) are actually interested in carpooling, vanpooling or taking the train or bus, according to new report from the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC). Nearly a third are interested in biking or walking. The study, commissioned as part of the Rideshare Thursday campaign and based on a survey of commuters, provides "insight into what makes commuters tick," says MSRC Chair Greg Pettis. "If we can understand what drives people to choose how they get to work, we can better develop a message—and methods—to meet their needs." So what could get those people who are interested into taking action? Rideshare Week Study Shows the Money, as it turns out, is a big factor. More than half of Longevity of the Campaign respondents said their top motivator in considering ridesharing over driving alone is saving money. This was followed by: "saving time" As part of a study on commuter habits and (11% of respondents saying this was most important to them), attitudes, participants were asked questions about "reduce impact on environment" (10%), "reduce stress" (9%) and Rideshare Thursday. It found that one in five commuters are aware "employer/workplace incentive" (5%). of Rideshare Thursday. Five percent had taken "Most people currently drive alone because they believe it's action as a result of the campaign. more convenient, or they want the flexibility of having their vehicle," This survey was conducted prior to the current adds Pettis. "But it's clear that emphasizing the money-saving Rideshare Thursday campaign that started in benefits of ridesharing is a message that could get through to those September—which is the first paid Rideshare willing to make a change. That ultimately helps our air quality and Thursday campaign since the 1990s. "It's amazing that a campaign that hasn't had reduces overall traffic." the benefit of advertising in well over a decade would still have such high recognition," says April Some other findings in the report: McKay with Metro. "We attribute that to the diligent efforts of employers, who have kept Rideshare ● Seventy-eight percent of Southland commuters drive alone to work. Thursday a household term by including it in their Of the 22% who currently rideshare,it breaks down to 12% of them outreach to employees over the years. In addition, ridesharing daily, and 10% using a mix of driving alone and an traffic reporters frequently mention Rideshare alternative mode (mostly carpooling). Thursday as part of their reports to encourage motorists to try alternatives to avoid traffic." ● The top reasons preventing commuters from ridesharing: the belief The current Rideshare Thursday campaign will that public transit is inconvenient or that they need their vehicle continue this month with online ads and social during the work day. media outreach, and the Rideshare Thursday facebook page will remain active beyond that. ● The top reasons preventing commuters specifically from biking or Commuters can get rideshare help at walking to work: they need their vehicle, they live too far from work, RideshareThursday.com. or conditions are unsafe to bike or walk. ● The typical commute (one way) is less than 30 minutes, although this varies greatly by region. Orange County commuters had the shortest commutes; Inland Empire commuters spent the most time commuting (with 5% spending two hours or more). ● People who walk or bike to work typically do so one to two days per week. Many worksites raffle off prizes to rideshare participants—but it's not just what you give away, but how you do it that matters. Here, ETCs offer up their favorite ideas for getting the most from prize drawings. The City of Santa Clarita asked employees to rideshare with a teddy bear. To enter a prize raffle, employees turned in their bears, which were later donated to child patients at the local hospital. TransAction Associates uses prizes as a lure for rideshare fair attendees to visit vendors. As they arrive, employees get an entry form— they need to fill their form with a certain number of stickers (available from the various booths) to qualify for a drawing. At Northrup Grumman, raffle entry forms are sometimes "rideshare fun fact quizzes" that employees must first complete, according to ETC Yvonne Discini. That way, they're thinking about ridesharing as much as they are prizes. At the County of San Bernardino's monthly prize drawing, frequent ridesharers win bigger bucks. According to ETC Arleen Shieh, employees who rideshare 4-15 times a month qualify for a $25 prize drawing. If they rideshare more than that, the prize bumps to $50. Susan Marquis, ETC for Hyatt Regency Long Beach, gets to interact with her ridesharers regularly—she has them stop by HR to fill out their entry form for a drawing held the 15th of each month. At a rideshare event last year, the City of Redlands decided to make it fun and hold a "poker run." Participants drew cards and the person with the day's best hand won $50. To create good will, anyone pulling two of a kind got a free smoothie—and all players got a small prize. Another effective idea: Cal State LA lets employees vie for prizes at their quarterly commuter breakfasts. "We have a spinning wheel that commuters like because they try to spin to win the prize they want," says ETC Betina Cervantes. The more you rideshare, the more chances you have to win at Quest Diagnostics. Employees turn in a card for every day that they rideshare—at the end of the month, ETC Lisa Rodriguez pulls 15 cards to win free gas. To get employees excited about rideshare rewards, it helps to offer something they really want. At Inland Regional Center, 2-person carpools accrue 10 minutes a day toward personal time off, a highly popular prize. Carpools of 3- or more earn 15 minutes a day. The City of Torrance holds prize drawings to increase attendance at rideshare events, with two ways to win: 1) a drawing for all employees enrolled in the program and 2) one for only those that attend. Reporters take home Golden Pylons On-air traffic reporters do more than tell motorists about tie-ups and collisions—they also point out ways to get around the traffic mess altogether by riding in a carpool line or taking transit. To honor the best in rideshare reporting, the Southern California transportation agencies each year award the Golden Pylon to five deserving reporters. This year's winners are KTLA-5's Ginger Chan, CHP Officer Jose Barrios (Fox-11 and Univision 34) Sabina Mora (KHHT, KRLA) and KNX 1070's Jeff Baugh and (not pictured) Mike O'Brien. Guess who can continue to drive solo in carpool lanes? Gov. Jerry Brown last month approved a four-year extension of carpool lane access for electric cars and low-emission vehicles. At the same time, however, he vetoed a bill (AB-405) that would have allowed solo drivers access to carpool lanes on the 210 and 134 freeways during off-peak hours. The electric vehicle extension was one of six bills signed into law in California that promoted the use of low- and zero-emission cars. Cars with white vehicle stickers from the state—including electric, hydrogen fuel cell and compressed natural gas vehicles—will be able to drive solo in carpool lanes until Jan. 1, 2019. (The stickers were originally due to expire in 2015.) Rideshare Week gets commuters out of their cars Rideshare Week—an annual, statewide event that promotes commute alternatives—was Oct. 7-11. During the week, thousands of Southern California commuters left the solo drive behind and instead carpooled, vanpooled, rode bus or rail, biked or walked to work. Special days—like "walk to school day"—rounded out the week. VCTC wows with ad campaign Congratulations to Ventura County Transportation Commission, which took home an AdWheel Award for creative excellence for the "Do it for Your Health" campaign. The poster graphics include health benefits of riding transit, such as helping you "take a load off your mind," "clear the air," and "stay fit." Don't let shopping stop your ridesharing Sometimes loyal ridesharers can revert to driving alone over the holidays because they believe they need their cars to run shopping errands. Help employees avoid this pitfall by providing transit info to local shopping centers and/or encouraging "trip-chaining"—that is, combining errands to save time on the road (plus burn less gas as a bonus).