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Celebrate Rideshare Month in October
What is rideshare month?
Ridesharing is exactly what it sounds like --sharing the ride. You can share with a co-worker, a friend, a family member, or someone you identify through a specific program designed to match people with similar commutes. Commonly referred to as carpooling or vanpooling, the term has come to encompass any form of transportation that moves more than one person at a time such as biking groups, public transit, or riding on private shuttles. Rideshare month celebrates those who rideshare because the choice to use a mode that isn’t a single-occupant vehicle is better for the environment.
Why rideshare?
The benefits of choosing alternatives to driving solo are numerous. Commuters who rideshare save money. According to AAA, the average cost of driving per mile ranges from $0.53 to $0.79 (“AAA’s Your Driving Costs” AAA Exchange, exchange.aaa.com/automotive/driving-costs). Multiply that seemingly small expense by the number of miles driven per year and the hidden cost of driving alone adds up quickly. To calculate your drive alone cost, try our Commute Cost Calculator.
How does ridesharing help businesses?
How we get to the workplace affects our overall job satisfaction, mood, and productivity. The Watertown TMA provides strategic consulting services focused on transportation solutions that reduce the number of cars on the road for Watertown, MA and the surrounding communities. Explore how our Transportation Demand Management (TDM) expertise could benefit your location.
Celebrating National Rideshare Month
Usually observed in the colder months after the peak of the bike to work season is over, Rideshare Month is celebrated in October. To get the most participants a commuter services program
should highlight the benefits of a sharing the ride and raise awareness of the available transportation options. A dedicated commute management professional or Transportation Coordinator should use a variety of rideshare tools and programs complimented by promotional marketing designed to encourage participation and long-term behavior-change.
The Watertown TMA provides comprehensive commuter services programs for Rideshare Month and beyond that deliver low-cost, high-impact results.
- Commuter Origin Analysis. Mapping where commuters begin their trips can illustrate hotspots for potential carpool and vanpool groups, locations for off-site parking, and private shuttle routes. Our commute data experts overlay public transit routes and existing park and ride lots with your zip code data for even deeper analysis.
- Commuter Surveys. Gather data to plan for parking demands and gauge commuter interest. Surveying commuters before a program launch is critical to success. Customized to your specific needs, our surveys are secure and anonymous.
- Shuttle Options & Off-Site Parking. Private shuttles can connect your commuters to public transit and extend its reach to your location. If you need additional parking capacity, seek a shuttle vendor who can assist with locating and procuring the best off-site parking solutions.
- Online Ridematching. Finding someone to ride with is what ridesharing is all about. To find the best list of partners, you’ll need to base the results on multiple commute factors such as the origin, destination, work hours, and preferences. Our private member-based platform, eCommuter, provides an all-in-one resource for matching to potential carpool, vanpool, and biking partners, exploring transportation options, and much more.
- Emergency Ride Home (ERH). One of the biggest barriers to ridesharing is the “what if I need my car?” An ERH program gives commuters the peace of mind to share the ride by providing those who do not have their car due to ridesharing a backup transportation option. Managed and administered through our eCommuter platform, our dispatch team provides our commuters emergency rides home through Lyft, taxi, or Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
- Commute Challenges and Incentives. Sometimes you need that extra something to get you started. Designed to encourage and reward those who choose alternatives to driving alone, the Watertown TMA manages and administers customizable and scalable promotions focused on sustainability through commuting. See what the current Commuter Challenge is here.
- Marketing & Promotions. The best commuter programs are only effective for those who know about them. In partnership with our clients, we design program materials that embrace your corporate culture and communications style. The Watertown TMA works with a full-time in-house creative marketing team dedicated to the success of your commuter services program.
Get your Rideshare Month rolling with the Watertown TMA. Discover how we can add to your commuter benefits package, email Director@WatertownTMA.org or call 781-404-5008 today!
This blog post originally appeared on the TransAction Associates
blog, Driven. This content has been customized for Watertown TMA and is redistributed here with permission [source: https://www.transactionassoc.com/celebrate-rideshare-month-in-october].
It's officially winter! Are you ready for the snow and ice? Is your car ready? Join Luis Mejia, Fleet Mechanic at TransAction Associates & Corporate Shuttles, as he shares some winter car maintenance and safety tips.
World Car-Free Day 2023 was a huge success! Organized in a variety of ways around the globe, every event shared the unifying goal of reducing the number of cars on the road. The Watertown TMA participated in MassCommute 's 2023 Car-Free Day, the Commonwealth’s Coalition of 15 TMAs to promote and celebrate Car-Free Day in Massachusetts. Commuters who participated helped to make a positive impact on the environment and contributed to a greener Bay State!
The WatConnector launched on September 7, 2021, with hourly service between Watertown Mews on Pleasant Street and Harvard Square. Starting February 13, 2023, the WatConnector will go electric and will run every half hour. Thanks to a grant from MassDOT, along with other public and private funds, two new electric shuttle buses were purchased and will replace the existing gas shuttles.
This past November, Watertown Transportation Management Association (WTMA) commuters were challenged to express their gratitude for the commutes that bring them safely to-and-from the workplace.
Also known as the WATConnector, passengers along Pleasant Street can now get to and from Watertown Square as well as Harvard Square during the AM and PM commutes. The WATConnector Pleasant Street shuttle services are available to participating corporate and residential partners and the public.
As a green commuter, you’ve done your part to help the environment. You found a carpool partner, coordinated schedules, made the trip in together. But what if you arrive at work and find that all of the good parking spots are taken? Many organizations have good intentions when they designate special preferred carpool parking spots in a prime location near an entrance. One carpool space reduces the need for at least one other parking spot. Promoting carpooling is a great way to reduce your parking demand and encourage commuters to share the ride. However, without the proper enforcement and program management in place, the positive impact of the preferential parking incentive can lose its effectiveness. That’s where having a partner like the Watertown Transportation Management Association (WTMA) to manage the program can help.
Everyone knows biking is good for you and good for the planet. Incorporating biking to work and during the workday has its advantages on the business side of things too. Studies have repeatedly shown people who bike are healthier (and therefore take fewer sick days), arrive to work less stressed, and are more productive. Need even more reasons? Below are just a few more of the benefits of biking for your commute: Avoids unhealthy traffic congestion Helps to improve air quality Saves on gas Avoids parking costs Increases your physical activity Reduces your stress Be a member of the bike commuting community Feel the thrill you get from bike riding
The Watertown Connector transports passengers to and from Harvard Square during the AM and PM commutes. There are two services available to participating corporate and residential partners (listed below).
The MBTA Forging-Ahead service cuts were approved by the MBTA's Fiscal Management and Control Board (FMCB) on December 14, 2020. These reductions are being made based on an overall 80% drop in ridership due to the pandemic. Although these cuts are not as severe as originally proposed by the MBTA in early November, they are significant and will impact the Watertown commuter community. According to the MBTA, by focusing on the reductions to service frequency, this allows for better preparation to increase service when ridership returns, after the widespread vaccine distribution.
Walking is something most of us do every day, it is our default transportation mode. By incorporating more regular walking habits into our routines, it can lead to some incredible physical and mental benefits. You're More Creative & Productive "A study done at Stanford showed that walking made participants more creative than their sedentary counterparts. They found that creative output increased 60 percent when a person was walking." source: Medium It's Healthier Than Running According to research reported in the American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology , "Calorie for calorie, walking also had a stronger impact on heart disease risk factors. The risk of first-time high blood pressure was reduced by 4.2% by running and 7.2% by walking." source: The Guardian Make Your Walk Fun! Plan multiple walks throughout your day. Take a break from the work day and go for a quick 10-minute walk Walk to an errand Create a destination Set out to just enjoy the beauty of nature