Commuters Can Now Carpool Back to East Bay in the Evening

(1 October, 1997 ? Oakland, CA) The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is organizing evening casual car pools across the Bay Bridge from San Francisco to the East Bay to offer commuters a new, convenient, inexpensive, and efficient travel option. Coinciding with California Rideshare Week, the program begins on October 6. Between 3 and 7 PM weekdays, passengers and drivers can connect at Beale Street between Howard and Folsom in San Francisco.

The recent BART strike spotlighted the need for more travel options across the Bay Bridge, the country’s worst congestion choke-point. More people per car means fewer cars, less congestion, and less pollution.

Currently each weekday morning over 12,000 commuters carpool from the East Bay to San Francisco. Of these, 8000 use casual carpools, where drivers and passengers meet between 6 and 9 AM each morning near BART stations and freeway on-ramps. By helping to organize east-bound evening car pools, EDF is providing commuters with more travel options.

“People need all available options in order to solve the Bay Area’s transportation problems,” says EDF Senior Economic Analyst Daniel Kirshner, who has been instrumental in organizing the new program.

“Casual carpooling reflects the independent, entrepreneurial spirit of commuters to find what’s best for them,” says John Hirten, Executive Director of RIDES for Bay Area Commuters, an organization working with EDF and the S.F. Department of Parking and Traffic in a broad-based effort to establish the east-bound casual carpool program. “We support it because it means fewer cars on the road.”

“We are in favor of encouraging transportation options to the single occupant car both to relieve congestion and ‘spare the air’,” says Joyce Roy, speaking for the League of Women Voters of the Bay Area.

“The Bay Area needs creative solutions to tough transportation problems ? to both congestion and poor air quality,” says EDF Transportation Program Manager Michael Cameron. “The success of this program depends on providing people with both good incentives and good opportunities. The existing car pool on-ramp to the Bay Bridge provides an incentive: time savings getting onto the Bridge. By helping organize car pools we give commuters a better opportunity to save time and money by ride sharing.”

On October 6, at 13 major East Bay morning pick up sites, commuters can get more information from flyers and pick up hand-held signs for their evening commute, indicating their destination. Commuters can also visit the web at: www.edf.org/programs/Transportation/carpool.html or call RIDES at 1-800-755-POOL.