Tired of driving to work every day, fighting all that rush hour traffic?
Frustrated at filling the tank more frequently now that gas prices are going up again?
How about getting to know fellow employees better or even making new friends?
All these issues might be addressed just down the road with a new commuter program for the entire Omaha/Council Bluffs area. . .
MAPA has signed a software contract with Greenride, owned by a New York-based firm called ENE, Ecology and Environment. This software will allow individuals and businesses to go online to seek carpooling opportunities, Youell told the MAPA Board of Directors at its February meeting.
Employers can use this software to offer carpooling to their employees, and that could result in many benefits, according to studies, Youell said.
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
New hope is on the way for Stramel and other metro-area residents who want to save on gas or just meet new people.
The Metropolitan Area Planning Agency is preparing to launch a free Web-based carpooling program this fall.
"With gas prices so high, we feel like this is the perfect time to launch it," said Greg Youell, transportation planner for the agency.
The plan comes as new U.S. Census Bureau data indicate that more people than ever are driving alone to work.
From 2000 to 2005, the share of people driving alone increased slightly to 77 percent, according to a report released last week. That was despite the average price of regular unleaded gas rising from $1.50 a gallon at the start of the decade to $2.28 a gallon in 2005.
During that time period, the share of people carpooling dropped from 12.2 percent to 10.7 percent. The share of commuters using public transportation stayed at 4.7 percent, according to the Census Bureau.
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
Great idea, but I don't think it'll work unless, for example, the city/county sets aside the left lane of I-80/480/680 and Dodge St. (inside the beltway) Â for 'carpool only' lanes (minimum 3 person's per car). This would give people an incentive to carpool, Â and it also gives it a snob appeal. Â It works here (DC area)---we even have what are called "slug lines"--designated places in the burbs where you can pick up people headed into the city for work (usually at shopping centers with large parking lots). Â Exceptions to the 3 person rule are made for hybrid vehicles (increasing the sales of hybrids here dramatically over the past 5 years). Â Those who violate the rules get slapped with a stiff fine. Â Everyone wins.
Backers of a new car pooling effort in the Omaha area are looking to large area employers to help boost the number of people sharing rides.
The Metropolitan Area Planning Agency launched a Web site, http://www.metrorideshare.org, in mid-October to link up people interested in car pooling.
So far the site has about 100 users, but MAPA wants a lot more. Greg Youell, a MAPA transportation planner, said organizers are reaching out to major companies and asking them to spread the word about the site. . . .
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
I was going to start a new thread but i think that it will fit nicely here. Â I'm sure that everyone has heard of the gas tax by now, and if it does pass (dear God, I hope not) the carpool program will certainly sound much nicer to folks. Â That being said, they estimate that the average person pays $3.18 per fill-up in taxes and with the increase, we'd be paying an average of over $11.00 in taxes. Â UNREAL. Â Who votes on this stuff out there? Â IMO the roads are not THAT bad to warrant an increase like that. Â This is starting to feel like taxation without representation
In the wake of the deadly Minneapolis bridge collapse, a federal commission has recommended increasing gasoline taxes as much as 40 cents per gallon to fix aging bridges and roads and protect public safety.
There is a lot more to the story about road funding.
IS that the amount of dollars you'd pay just for taxes if you filled up your tank? So what, that figures out to like a 27.5 gallon tank? Is that right? I never was very good at the maths.
Swift wrote:IS that the amount of dollars you'd pay just for taxes if you filled up your tank? So what, that figures out to like a 27.5 gallon tank? Is that right? I never was very good at the maths.
To go from $3.18 to $11.00 per tank at $0.40 per gallon, I come up with a little shy of 20 gallons. Â Sounds a little high for most cars. Â Trucks or SUVs on the other hand....
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
First off, i apologize for the lack of coherence in many of my posts.  Secondly, it was on channel 6 news at 5 am the other day.  The $11 was a total average estimate of tax on a tank of gas, with the $11 being after the increase of $.40 a gallon.  Right now, there is a road tax of $.18 per gallon.  The total tax of $3.18 on a tank of gas puts the tank at 17.66 gallons.  That's right around a 15 gallon tank, with there being up to 1.5 gallons in the filler tube to get to the 17 and a half gallon mark.  If they increased the road tax by $.40 to $.58 (.18+.40=.58), and at 17.66 gallons, that's actually $10.25 in total taxes paid per tank...average.  I'm not sure why they rounded up, besides that $11 is higher than $10 and it is news and that's what they do.  There's a lot of SUV's, vans, etc, that have (in some cases) [2] 20 gallon tanks, or [1] 25-30 gallon tank which offsets many of the smaller cars that have 8-12 gallon tanks...which is how they came up with their average.  My brother's F350 had [2] 20 gallon tanks on it; he would always |expletive| about $130 fill ups.  Go figure  So anyway, that's what i meant, that's what channel 6 was talking about in a nutshell, and sorry it didn't make sense...i've been told that i need to focus and think through my posts a little more, and after looking at them, i agree
I was just watching "Beyond Tomorrow" on Discovery Science, and they talked about a car being developed that runs on air.  When running it on just air it would be able to go a little more than 200km, and take 3 min to fill up at a station.  They are developing one that has a "petrol" generator that pumps as you drive, which would increase the range on 1 tank of fuel to a couple thousand miles.  Specifically, they mentioned being able to drive from LA to NYC.  They go on sale in Europe in the next 1-2 years... though it wouldn't relieve traffic congestion woes, it would definitely help at the pump.  It probably wouldn't fly in the US because of oil companies, etc, so I still think that they should have a carpool program  I wish Council Bluffs had something like it, or even an idea of it.
Looks like they are promoting this program more heavily. Â I just noticed that there is a sign on westbound I-80 just past the Hwy 6 exit east of Council Bluffs promoting the program. Â It would be interesting to see if that has any impact on shared ridership.
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
icejammer wrote:Looks like they are promoting this program more heavily. I just noticed that there is a sign on westbound I-80 just past the Hwy 6 exit east of Council Bluffs promoting the program. It would be interesting to see if that has any impact on shared ridership.
www.omaha.com wrote:The Mayor's Rideshare Challenge for carpooling ended Tuesday with more than 1,500 registered participants.
Headed by Mayor Mike Fahey, the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency, the Sierra Club and the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, the challenge was aimed at spreading awareness of the carpooling program, which matches drivers and riders by computer.
"This type of activity reduces traffic congestion, pollution and saves citizens money in the face of rising gas prices," Fahey said in May. The goal was 1,000 registrants by July 1.
I just spent the last week in San Francisco. After driving there for a week then coming back to Omaha and instantly hitting rush hour traffic coming from the airport, I'd rather be back in San Francisco. I loved the carpool lanes for cars with 2 or more people. It made things so nice. If a carpool system is in place, there needs to be benefits that go along with it, like a lane for carpoolers. I'd say this is especially important for I-80 Council Bluffs to Lincoln, I-680, and Dodge St.
Live everyday to its fullest.. err.. just make sure your coffee cup is full. You should be good then.
 So anyway, that's what i meant, that's what channel 6 was talking about in a nutshell, and sorry it didn't make sense...i've been told that i need to focus and think through my posts a little more, and after looking at them, i agree 