COMPUTERIZED CARPOOLING COMES TO BANGOR!

Every weekday morning, the commuters creep in -- along Route 9, Route 1A, Route 15, Route 222, Stillwater Avenue.  Others enter the city from the Interstate.  At each stoplight the traffic queues up in long lines, and drivers impatiently check their watches.  It’s a relatively new phenomenon for the Bangor area, where only ten years ago residents    complained about “traffic jams” if there were more than four cars stopped at a light.  Like many other urban areas, Greater Bangor has undergone traffic pattern changes due to sprawl -- the migration of the workforce to outlying communities, who then must depend upon their private vehicles to meet daily transportation needs.  Almost all of these daily commuters travel alone, adding to the traffic congestion.

Now commuters can choose a better alternative.

Bangor Area Comprehensive Transportation System (BACTS) is introducing a new ride-sharing program, using the same computerized database as the highly successful GO AUGUSTA program serving the capitol city and surrounding areas.  Interested commuters can register their home and work locations and their preferred start and end times at work, and they will receive a printout of potential carpoolers from their area.  Although many people choose ridesharing in order to help reduce air pollution and congestion, carpoolers also end up with extra cash in their pockets -- sharing the ride means less money spent on gas and far less wear-and-tear on each vehicle.  For example, a single commuter driving 30 miles per day (15 miles each way) in a 25-mpg vehicle, assuming a $1.50 gas price, will spend $450 annually working a typical schedule of five days each week for 50 weeks per year -- just on gas.  If you calculate the total vehicle costs for the same commuter and same vehicle using the current Federal allowable rate of 32.5 cents per mile, it works out to over $2400 per year!  By sharing the commute, you can cut your costs by at least half -- and possibly postpone the need to buy an expensive new car as well.

A key feature of the new ride-sharing program is the “emergency free ride home.”  This service ensures that you will be able to get home if the unexpected arises, whether it’s unscheduled overtime, a sick child, or a broken-down vehicle.  This no-cost service is available up to six times per year for all registered rideshare participants, regardless of the commuting distance between home and office. (And yes, you can register even if you share the commute with another member of your household.)  Bicycle commuters and transit riders can also register with BACTS to qualify for the emergency ride home service.

The new rideshare program is being sponsored by Bangor Area Comprehensive Transportation System (BACTS), the transportation planning authority for the greater Bangor metropolitan area.  For more information or to register for the carpool database, please call Sandi Duchesne at BACTS, 942-6389 or e-mail:  sduchesne@emdc.org.

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