Carpool Tips
Carpools are a great way to decrease single-occupancy vehicle use, build friendships, develop study groups... If a vehicle has a driver and at least one more person as passenger (sorry, your pet doesn't count in this case), you are carpooling.
Here are a few strategies to help you enjoy a smooth commute
- Decide who will drive and when.
- Give everyone a list with each pooler’s contact details (home, work, and cell phone numbers and emergency contact information is a good start) with your carpool partners.
- Choose a convenient meeting place. Either pick up each pooler at home or meet in a central location like a mall parking lot or park and ride.
- Set up a schedule—and stick to it. Make sure everyone knows the schedule and is notified of changes.
- Decide how long you will wait for tardy riders
- Establish a fare. If you share the driving equally, you may choose not to exchange money. If one person drives, you could agree on a mutually acceptable fare, or you could calculate what to charge riders by dividing the round trip mileage times cost per mile by the number of riders.
- Establish guidelines on smoking, eating, drinking, listening to music, seating arrangements, karaoke…
- Be considerate of perfume/product sensitivities
- Make sure your vehicle is in good repair and has enough gas
- Check your insurance coverage. Some policies may offer rate reductions for ride sharing
- Drive safely and obey the rules of the road
- Be willing to compromise and communicate
- Agree on a back-up plan in case of illness, mechanical problems or an emergency situation
- Carpooling is a cooperative effort – common sense, dependability, courtesy, planning, flexibility, and accommodation are essential! Sometimes homemade cookies work well, too.
- Have fun, save money, and tread lightly on the environment!
Notes on Carpooling
**there are no separate carpool permits**
- Designated car pool spaces are reserved for vehicles that park with 2 or more people in them at the time they park between 7 - 10:30 am. After that time, those spots will be open to general or employee parking depending on the lot.
i.e. if the carpool spots are in an employee lot, the spots will become available for employee parking, and if they are in general parking, the spots will become available for general parking.
- A valid VIU parking pass is needed to park in these spots. Note that up to 10 license plate numbers may be attributed to one pass, but only ONE of those vehicles may be on campus at a time. If there are two (or more) vehicles parked at the same time, the second (third, fourth...) vehicle will be subject to ticketing.
- Car pool spot compliance will be enforced by LPR in regard to valid passes, and by the parking ambassador/security for the stipulation of 2 or more people in the car.
Links
Not sure where to find potential carpoolers...? These links may help