I recently got a job where I commute between Clayton and Morrisville - 56 miles RT/day. Through a website that matches van and carpoolers, I located a few people in Clayton who make the same trip. (No vanpools available.) If I'm the driver, what is a fair amount to charge a rider per day, for the round trip. I would provide door-to-door transport - should only add a couple miles per day to my trip. So what should I charge a rider per day, RT Clayton to Morrisville?
In my experience each individual just took turns driving, usually changing each Monday for a week. Are you really going to be the only one who ever drives?
The RTA transport that has two or three vanpools that run from Clayton to RTP charges between $60-75 per person, per month. (Rates depend on how many people join the carpool). The driver of the van rides for free and has access to the van for 100 miles per month. They also all meet at a local spot. I drive from Clayton to just outside of RTP (Durham address) five days a week and it runs me about $75-100 a week in gas. (I also drive a mini-van..I know, I know...) If you are going to charge door to door service, I would keep it no more than $100 per person, per month. You're looking at about $350-400 a month in gas (I'm assuming, I know its not accurate) so if you can get at least four riders, I think you would be going somewhere with this. Good luck!
Sorry ... I know this is a little off the subject but... Speaking of gas ... I'm really glad I work from home. Gas is really expensive. Last night while picking up food at the 40/42 McDonalds takeout window - the fella working at the window asked me if the sign at the gas station read $8.12 for regular gas. Sure enough it did. Most of the other station's signs read $3.12. I had to go to the gas station after my visit to McDonalds so I mentioned the sign ... thinking it was a mistake or a prank. The folks at the station said the owner wouldn't purchase any 3's for the sign so they just put tape on some 8's in effort to make them look like 3's. The tape looks fine during the day ... but at night you can tell it's an 8. Who knew ... I thought the average gas station made enough money to cover the cost of plastic letters/numbers to hang on their signs? As far as charging for carpool ... I think I would total the cost of the gas and divide it by the number of folks riding in the car. I guess you'd have to add a little to that to cover insurance & car wear. I hate driving ... so if I were still making a commute like that it would be worth it to pay someone. When I worked outside of my home in Colorado, I made a 50-mile trip in each direction. I would have LOVED to carpool with someone regularly. I did ride with another coworker on a few occasions ... but it never worked out to be something we could do regularly because sometimes he had to work over or I had to work over or I needed to pick up my son from daycare early because he was sick.... It was great when it worked out, but sometimes it was a bit of a hassle. The days I carpooled I really saved on my phone bill. I had a bad habit of calling friends & family on my car trip home when I was driving alone. My phone bill was huge. Carpooling saved me both money in gas & money for my phone bill. I know it’s hard to believe ... but I talk even more than I write Those riding with you may be getting a better deal than you are if you do all of the driving. However, if your schedule can work it ... and the folks are nice rather than a bunch of grumps ... it really could make your morning more enjoyable ... which would have to be worth something. If I wasn't on the phone during my long road trips to work & I was all alone ... I tended to get more stressed with the traffic. If I were upset about something I would spend too much time reliving it in my mind during the drive & would manage to get even more upset. I did start renting books on tape to make the ride more interesting. I also bought teach yourself Spanish tapes for the trip. My husband spends a ton of time on the roads these days & he purchased a satellite radio. He loves the Howard Stern show. I'm sure that's not for everyone ... but it seems to really entertain him. Can you work it out where the others are taking turns driving? It seems like that would the most fair way to split the ride?
I haven't yet spoken to these people, but their postings say they either don't have a car, or don't want to drive. I'd actually prefer to be the rider.
A friend warned me about mixing personalities in the pool. I am quiet - especially in the morning. (More talkative on the home commute.) And I'm an anxious highway driver. (Only commuting 1 month, and already a fender-bender on I-40.) Especially distracted by cell phone conversations. And my friend warned me that others are bothered by NPR and books on tape - both of which I do. (Although, I don't have to. Quiet would be fine.) When I commuted via train, most people, including me, would sleep on the morning trip in. Then conversation on the way home. In fact, for the various holidays, we would have "train parties" and arrive home, drunk and happy. So bottom line is, I'll try to find dispositionally similar people.
If this is the TTA van pools you're mentioning, I'd have no trouble getting to the pickup spot in Clayton. But I'd need dropoff and return pickup w/in walking distance of my workplace in Morrisville. (Airport Blvd, a little over a mile from the I-40 interchange - and I'm NOT walking that mile!) I'll call and see if any van can get me close. As far as my car pooling, I had thought about $5/day or ~ $100/mo. I don't think I could tolerate more than two riders. But that's still $200, more than I'm getting now. Thanks for the advice.
