A new credo for commuters: more is less

Car pools are gaining popularity to ease burden of high gas prices

By Tanya Perez-Brennan, Globe Correspondent  |  July 24, 2008

Denise Liseno remembers the day the price of gas got to be too much. She had gone into a gas station thinking $60 would be enough to fill the tank of her 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix. But she was wrong.

"I had to go back in and give them ten more dollars and I thought, this is ridiculous," Liseno said.

So in May, Liseno decided to carpool and approached Laura Larrivee, a co-worker. The two women have been commuting together ever since.

They are hardly alone.

The MetroWest/495 Transportation Management Association, which provides car pool services to more than 30 companies in western suburbs such as Framingham, Hopkinton, and Sudbury, has reported a 20 percent increase since the beginning of the year in the number of people in its ride-matching database. There are now 948 people in the database. Also, a shift in marketing strategy, which allows paper as well as online sign-ups, has meant that the group's Guaranteed Ride Home program, available to people who leave their cars at home at least twice a week, has seen a 56 percent increase, with 635 people signed up.

"It's because of a different marketing strategy and $4-a-gallon gasoline," said Susan Tordella, the director of the association, which is sponsored by the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce and the Marlborough Regional Chamber of Commerce.

MassRIDES, a statewide ride-sharing program, has seen a 7 percent increase since late April in online registrations to its database, said Jennifer Walsh Carroll, a spokeswoman for the program. There are now some 14,000 people in the database.

Some companies in the western suburbs say they are seeing the highest numbers of car poolers ever. Framingham-based Staples subscribes to the transportation association's program but has had its own car pool program for more than 10 years, said Michele Brooks, transportation coordinator for the company. Last year, there were 150 to 160 registered car pools, which accounted for about 350 people, she said. This year, there are 182 car pools with nearly 400 people.

"Now people are much more committed, and I think there's a financial factor," Brooks said. "Some of the newest car pools are people coming from New Hampshire and out from Boston or from the south. There are people with longer, more expensive commutes, and they're much more willing to give up the flexibility of driving."

Denise Liseno is a senior accounts receivable representative for Ca Inc. She lives in Worcester but works in Framingham, about a 43-mile round-trip commute. She said she would normally spend about $250 a month on gas. Now she carpools with Larrivee three times a week and saves half that amount in addition to the cost of tolls.

"We were both just constantly complaining about gas prices," said Larrivee. "We kept on saying we should carpool because I used to go right near her house."

People who carpool say they like it for a number of reasons and would recommend it to others as an alternative way of getting to and from work.

"Obviously the rising cost of gas," said Liseno. "Helping to reduce my carbon footprint, and it's nice to have someone to chat with in the morning."

Norm Staller, an engineer who works for a Framingham-based company, used to commute from his Beverly home, about 86 miles round-trip, which cost him an average of $240 a month. He tried carpooling 10 years ago but stopped because he said he couldn't find a match through the transportation association's database. But five months ago, he started carpooling again. Now he shares a ride five days a week and saves at least $120 a month.

In addition to the cost savings and cutting down on the wear and tear on his car, Staller sees another important benefit.

"It tends to preserve your sanity a little bit," he said.