The Long Commute - Part 3

Americans have a long and storied love affair with the automobile.

But high gas prices have more people giving up a little freedom to go where they want when they want to save money.

The Regional Transportation Authority says interest in ride-sharing and car pooling have skyrocketed in recent months.

Deborah Jones and Jessica Tarkington have been working side by side at a Nashville collection agency for years.

They both live in Dickson County and they just started sharing the ride with 10 other co-workers in a van purchased by the R-T-A.

Federal and state grants buy the vans. Car pooling groups use them, sharing the fuel costs among them.

The van Jones and Tarkington use is one of 20 new vans the R-T-A just put into service.

"In the last month and a half we are getting between 75 and 1-hundred calls a day wanting transportation other than driving their car," said the R-T-A's Glenda Griggs.

She says the agency could fill 20 more vans tomorrow if they had them.

This type of ride sharing will cut expenses for this group of Dickson County commuters by about 80-percent -- from 125-dollars a week to about a hundred dollars a month.


Some people have avoided van pooling because they're afraid they'll be stuck if there's an emergency. But the R-T-A gives riders six vouchers a year. If you're in a jam, they'll either get you a cab home or rent you a car."

One rider told Fox 17 News she was going to have to quit her job if she didn't find a cheaper way to get back and forth.

The R-T-A gives several vouchers a year its riders can use to get home outside the normal time in cases of emergency.

Glenda Griggs says depending on distance, the R-T-A will either call you a cab or rent you a car in those instances.

It's one more way people are beating high gas prices.

You might be wondering why anyone would want to be the driver and take on the responsibility of a van pool.

The answer is simple, drivers ride for free.

And that's not the only benefit. If you van pool, your car insurance will go down because you're limiting your exposure for a crash on the way to and from work in your personal car.

The R-T-A has a huge computer data base it uses to help connect potential car and van poolers in the nine county metro area.

For more information, call 615-862-8833.
The Long Commute - Part 3