Pooling their resources More and more Mainers seeking out options for ride-sharing and transit to combat the high cost of gas

Mainers are logging in and signing up for car pooling and van pooling coordinated by the state, and many businesses are working with their employees to make ride-sharing work.

“We are getting calls from employers who really are hearing from their employees that they are having a difficult time paying for that commute to work every day,” said Susan Moreau, coordinator of the state GoMaine program. “We are going in there and helping them to set up this program, talk to their employees one on one and look at a combination of car pooling, van pooling and transit.”

She said a lot of Mainers are logging on to the Web site www.go

maine.org, and making their own arrangements for car and van, and finding what transit options are available to them. She said that when the Web site was set up in 2002, it had about 3,000 names in its database, but that has increased to more than 6,500 names and the list is growing daily.

“The software we have is very easy to use and allows people to find someone to ride-share with on the terms they need,” she said. “Many people are using it to set up their own car-pooling arrangements, so we don’t know how many people are car pooling, but we think it certainly is increasing.”

Dana Connors, president of the Maine Chamber of Commerce, said commuting costs are very much a concern of employers. He said it was discussed at Friday’s board of directors meeting as employers sought to help workers deal with increased costs.

“I think a lot of it has been individuals that work for the same employer getting together and working out their own car pool,” he said. “But there are also discussions about ‘vanning’ and taking steps like changing workweeks and using the Internet.”

Connors said some companies, such as Geiger Bros. in Lewiston, have embraced telecommuting on the Internet, and others, such as Bath Iron Works, have been using vans to shuttle workers from park-and-ride lots to the gates at the yard.

“There is a lot of concern about what another spike in gasoline prices will do this winter,” he said. “I suspect there will be a lot more discussion about car pooling in the months ahead.”

Moreau said that in addition to the car-pooling option, the state has a van-pooling operation that is popular with larger employers and groups of employers at places such as a shopping mall or business park, which has a large number of workers and is coordinated by the state program. She said large employers such as Unum and Eastern Maine Medical Center have embraced the van-pool program.

“The state owns the vans, but the fee charged covers the cost of purchasing the vans, maintenance costs and gas,” she said. “We administer the program.”

Moreau is working with the Loring Redevelopment Authority on an ambitious effort that will include car pooling, van pooling and the establishment of “minibus” routes in part of Aroostook County.

“We are just getting this under way, but we feel it will help workers that are feeling the pinch of higher gas prices,” she said.

Carl Flora, executive director of the Loring Redevelopment Authority, said Friday he expects many of the more than 1,600 workers at the complex will make use of one of the options being developed. But, he said, many are already car pooling through their own arrangements.

“You used to see cars coming out of the parking lots all the time with just one person in the car,” he said. “I am seeing two and three in cars now.”

The GoMaine efforts got a boost Friday as Maine Department of Transportation announced a “reprogramming” of just more than $1 million in federal funds to expand the program. The funds will be used for publicizing the Web site and expanding the park-and-ride lots.

“We know that many of the lots are now full,” Deputy DOT Commissioner Greg Nadeau said. “We are looking at ways to expand the lots and we are looking at doing an inventory of potential commercial sites that may have excess parking capacity that could be used.”

Moreau said that even though the lots are operating at near capacity, the program would work to develop alternatives as more Mainers sign up. She said many participating in the program already have solved their park-and-ride issues, often simply leaving vehicles at one of the car poolers’ homes.

Moreau said a big draw for the car- and van-pool program is the ride guarantee program if people sign up on the GoMaine Web site. She said the program would make sure if a person has a family emergency and needs a ride, they would get a ride through the program.

“That has been a big relief to some people, “she said.

Car pool Web sites

gomaine.org

erideshare.com

carpoolworld.com

craigslist.org

zimride.com

goloco.org