September 22, 2008

GreenRide program to help faculty, staff, students carpool

The University has signed a contract with Ecology and Environmental Inc. for implementation of a carpool/rideshare application called GreenRide on the West Lafayette campus. It is expected that the program will be available for use by the end of the fall semester.

The program is designed to help faculty, staff and students find carpooling partners by searching for other Purdue employees and students who live close by or on the same commute route and who have similar work or class schedules.

University faculty and staff were surveyed in July to determine interest in carpooling. They indicated a strong interest in a carpool program with a "concern for the environment" and "saving money" as their primary motivations.

"This program has the potential to help employees save a significant amount of money in their transportation costs to and from work," says John Gleason, senior director of Physical Facilities administrative support and auxiliary services, who served on the committee that studied and proposed the carpool initiative.

"Two persons carpooling together represent a 50 percent cost savings to each person while four riders each save 75 percent in costs," he says.

Sharon Steen, project manager in business services; Paula Kayser, assistant director of computing services for physical facilities computing; and Chris Frazee, manager of networking and operations in physical facilities computing, also were on the committee. Many staff members have been actively involved in the project.

Morgan R. Olsen, executive vice president and treasurer, said, "This is a nice opportunity to combine concern for the impact of rising oil prices on our commuting employees and students with Purdue's commitment to sustainability. This tool is an investment in our planet and our Purdue people."

During the next few months, the University will work with GreenRide to develop the Web page on which faculty, staff and students will sign up for the program using their career account password. Kayser says the University has tested and is satisfied with the security of the GreenRide system. 

The GreenRide program will be rolled out in three phases. The first will be for carpooling -- regular trips to and from campus for work or classes -- and will be for the West Lafayette campus only. The second phase will involve carpooling for regional campuses, statewide technology locations, county extension locations and other affiliates as determined feasible. In the third phase, Purdue will implement a ride-sharing program, which is for one-time rides such as going to an off-campus event or game, or sharing a ride home during school breaks or weekends.

The phase one carpooling program will allow users to designate their starting location and the times and days on which they are interested in carpooling. For instance, someone with an after-work commitment on Tuesdays and Thursdays may be interested in carpooling on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. That information will help the system match the person with potential carpool partners. Individuals will be responsible for contacting the potential partners based on contact information supplied to the system.

More information about GreenRide will be included in future issues of Inside Purdue and Purdue Today.