Vanpools or vanpooling is an element of the transit system that allow groups of people to share the ride similar to a carpool, but on a larger scale with concurrent savings in fuel and vehicle operating costs and thus usually a lower cost to the rider. Vanpools have a lower operating and capital cost than most transit vehicles in the United States, but due to their relatively low capacity, vanpools often require subsidies comparable to conventional bus service. [1]
Vehicles may be provided by individuals, individuals in cooperation with various public and private support programs, through a program operated by or on behalf of an element of government, or a program operated by or on behalf of an employer.
The key concept is that people share the ride from home or one or more common meeting locations and travel together to a common destination or work center.
A number of programs exist (within the United States) to help lower the cost of that shared ride to the end user. Among these are traditional funding available to public agencies, public-private partnerships, and the Best Work Places for Commuters [2] (Commuter Choice Programs). A tax benefit is available under 26 U.S.C. §132(f) Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit allowances. These public transportation programs seek to reduce the number of cars on the road (with all the attendant environmental benefits).
Additional benefits include:
In many cases, an employer may elect to subsidize the cost of the vanpool and the vehicles' maintenance. In some cases, the vehicles are provided and maintained by the municipality; in others, they are provided in partnership with or by a third-party provider. For example, UCLA operates an extensive network of vans in which faculty, staff, and students are eligible for discounted rates, although anyone commuting to the Westwood area is allowed to participate, with drivers receiving the highest discounts. The vans are centrally maintained, fueled, and cleaned.
The King County Metro Vanpool Program [3] is a successful demand responsive transport program in the Puget Sound area, specifically in King County, Washington. Other successful programs are operated by Pace in Illinois and Utah Transit Authority in Utah.
Vanpooling was begun in the early nineteen seventies by a company called People’s Vans by founder Victor Paglia in 1972 to address the need for people to acquire affordable travel cross country. Reference May 14 article in the Travel section of the New York Times [4]
The oldest multi-employer vanpool program in the country is in Treasure Valley, Idaho. For over 30 years Ada County Highway District’s Commuteride [5] Vanpools have been crisscrossing the Valley helping commuters go to and from work, with their numerous vanpool routes traveling throughout the Treasure Valley. The Vanpools also service the Military at Gowen Field and Mountain Home Air Force Base (MHAFB) with multiple routes to and from Ada and Canyon County. ACHD Commuteride serves the cities, Boise, Meridian, Kuna, Garden City, Eagle and Star as well as Ada County.
Private firms operate vanpools for individuals, as well as in cooperation with employers or under contract.
Another notable example is Swvl, a NASDAQ publicly held company, that is providing Vanpooling services in 18 countries.
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The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people throughout five counties in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It also manages projects that maintain, replace, and expand its infrastructure, facilities and vehicles.
Community Transit (CT) is the public transit authority of Snohomish County, Washington, United States, excluding the city of Everett, in the Seattle metropolitan area. It operates local bus, paratransit and vanpool service within Snohomish County, as well as commuter buses to Downtown Seattle and Northgate station. CT is publicly funded, financed through sales taxes, and farebox revenue, with an operating budget of $133.2 million. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 7,133,700, or about 24,700 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024, placing it fourth among transit agencies in the Puget Sound region. The city of Everett, which serves as the county seat, is served by Everett Transit, a municipal transit system.
Lynx is a transit system serving the greater Orlando, Florida area. Operated by the Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority, it provides bus, curb-to-curb, and paratransit services in three counties: Orange, Seminole, and Osceola. Bus routes are referred to as Links.
Pace is the suburban bus and regional paratransit division of the Regional Transportation Authority serving the Chicago metropolitan area. It was created in 1983 by the RTA Act, which established the formula that provides funding to the CTA, Metra, and Pace. The various agencies providing bus service in the Chicago suburbs were merged under the Suburban Bus Division, which rebranded as Pace in 1984. In 2022, Pace had 18.041 million riders.
Paratransit or Intermediate Public Transport, is a type of transportation services that supplement fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. Paratransit services may vary considerably on the degree of flexibility they provide their customers. At their simplest they may consist of a taxi or small bus that will run along a more or less defined route and then stop to pick up or discharge passengers on request. At the other end of the spectrum—fully demand responsive transport—the most flexible paratransit systems offer on-demand call-up door-to-door service from any origin to any destination in a service area. In addition to public transit agencies, paratransit services may be operated by community groups or not-for-profit organizations, and for-profit private companies or operators.
The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) is a special service district responsible for providing public transportation throughout the Wasatch Front of Utah, in the United States, which includes the metropolitan areas of Ogden, Park City, Provo, Salt Lake City and Tooele. It operates fixed route buses, flex route buses, express buses, ski buses, three light rail lines in Salt Lake County (TRAX), a streetcar line in Salt Lake City, and a commuter rail train (FrontRunner) from Ogden through Salt Lake City to Provo. UTA is headquartered in Salt Lake City with operations and garages in locations throughout the Wasatch Front, including Ogden, Midvale and Orem. Light rail vehicles are stored and maintained at yards at locations in South Salt Lake and Midvale. UTA's commuter rail equipment is stored and serviced at a facility in Salt Lake City. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 35,058,000, or about 133,500 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024.
Golden Gate Transit (GGT) is a public transportation system serving the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in California, United States. It primarily serves Marin County, Sonoma County, and San Francisco, and also provides limited service to Contra Costa County. In 2023, Golden Gate Transit had a ridership of 1,366,600, or about 4,400 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024.
The Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority, more popularly known as Valley Metro, is the unified public brand of the regional transit system for the Phoenix metropolitan area. Within the system, it is divided between Valley Metro Bus, which runs all bus operations, Valley Metro Rail, which is responsible for light rail and streetcar operations in the Valley. In 2023, the combined bus and rail system had a ridership of 36,374,000, or about 122,600 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024.
The Delaware Transit Corporation, operating as DART First State, is the only public transportation system that operates throughout the U.S. state of Delaware. DART First State provides local and inter-county bus service throughout the state and also funds commuter rail service along SEPTA Regional Rail's Wilmington/Newark Line serving the northern part of the state. The agency also operates statewide paratransit service for people with disabilities. DART First State is a subsidiary of the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT).
San Joaquin Regional Transit District is a transit district that provides bus service to the city of Stockton, California and the surrounding communities of Lodi, Ripon, Thornton, French Camp, Lathrop, Manteca, and Tracy. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 2,432,000, or about 9,200 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024.
The Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) is the transit authority that operates in Denton County, Texas. It operates transit service in three cities within Denton County, as well as the A-train, a regional commuter rail line to Carrollton. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 2,852,000, or about 11,600 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024.
The Riverside Transit Agency (RTA) is the main transit agency for western Riverside County, California, United States. RTA provides both local and regional services throughout the region with 32 fixed-routes ,3 CommuterLink routes, Micro Transit in the Hemet San Jacinto area, and Dial-A-Ride services using a fleet of 339 vehicles. In the cities of Corona, Beaumont and Banning, RTA coordinates regional services with municipal transit systems. In Riverside, RTA coordinates with the city's Riverside Special Services, which provides ADA complementary service to RTA's fixed-route services.
An employer in the United States may provide transportation benefits to their employees that are tax free up to a certain limit. Under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code section 132(a), the qualified transportation benefits are one of the eight types of statutory employee benefits that are excluded from gross income in calculating federal income tax. The qualified transportation benefits are transit passes, vanpooling, bicycling, and parking associated with these things.
Demand-responsive transport (DRT), also known as demand-responsive transit, demand-responsive service, Dial-a-Ride transit, flexible transport services, Microtransit, Non-Emergency Medical Transport (NEMT), Carpool or On-demand bus service is a form of shared private or quasi-public transport for groups traveling where vehicles alter their routes each journey based on particular transport demand without using a fixed route or timetabled journeys. These vehicles typically pick-up and drop-off passengers in locations according to passengers needs and can include taxis, buses or other vehicles. Passengers can typically summon the service with a mobile phone app or by telephone; telephone is particularly relevant to older users who may not be conversant with technology.
The United States is serviced by a wide array of public transportation, including various forms of bus, rail, ferry, and sometimes, airline services. Most established public transit systems are located in central, urban areas where there is enough density and public demand to require public transportation. In more auto-centric suburban localities, public transit is normally, but not always, less frequent and less common. Most public transit services in the United States are either national, regional/commuter, or local, depending on the type of service. Sometimes "public transportation" in the United States is an umbrella term used synonymously with "alternative transportation", meaning any form of mobility that excludes driving alone by automobile. This can sometimes include carpooling, vanpooling, on-demand mobility, infrastructure that is oriented toward bicycles, and paratransit service. There is public transit service in most US cities.
Shared transport or shared mobility is a transportation system where travelers share a vehicle either simultaneously as a group or over time as personal rental, and in the process share the cost of the journey, thus purportedly creating a hybrid between private vehicle use and mass or public transport. It is a transportation strategy that allows users to access transportation services on an as-needed basis. Shared mobility is an umbrella term that encompasses a variety of transportation modes including carsharing, Bicycle-sharing systems, ridesharing companies, carpools, and microtransit.
Yakima Transit is the primary provider of mass transportation in the city of Yakima, Washington. It was established in 1966, as Yakima City Lines, when the city of Yakima began funding the provision of transit service after the privately owned company that had been providing service went bankrupt.
Commute.org is the transportation demand management (TDM) agency for San Mateo County, California, United States. Structured as a public joint powers agency, Commute.org is governed by an 18-member board made up of elected officials from 17 member cities and towns as well as the County of San Mateo. In addition to the Board of Directors, there are also standing committees, Supervisory and Finance, which provide guidance and oversight to the agency.
The Mason Transit Authority (MTA), formerly the Mason County Transportation Authority, is the public transit authority of Mason County, Washington, United States. It operates free bus service within the county, connecting the city of Shelton, Hoodsport, Grapeview, Allyn, Belfair, the native tribal reservations of the Skokomish and Squaxin people, and paid commuter service to Olympia in Thurston County, Brinnon in Jefferson County, and Bremerton in Kitsap County. The agency also provides general public dial-a-ride service, operates a vanpool fleet, a worker/driver program that provides commuter service to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, volunteer driver program for senior transportation, a supplemental service that is an after school activity bus and a community van program.
