SchoolPool Program (West/Central/East County)
Date _September 2003________
PROJECT MONITORING FORM 1
Ridesharing; Shuttle/Feeder Bus; Transit Information; Rail-Bus Integration; Smart Growth Projects
TFCA Project # 01CC02-7b Project Sponsor: TRANSPAC/City of Pleasant Hill
Project Title: SchoolPool Program
Contact: Lynn Osborn Phone: (925) 407-0353 E-mail: losborn@cccan.org
TFCA $ Expended: $ 95,000 Total Project Cost: $ 95,000
Project Start Date: July 2001 Completion Date: June 2003
1. Project Description: SchoolPool Program
A) K-12 Program
This project continues to provide a much-needed carpool ridematch resource for parents
transporting their children to and from school. This project provided ridematch services to all
public and private schools K-12 (kindergarten through twelfth grade), throughout Contra Costa.
Any parents unable to find a carpool partner will be offered 20 free bus tickets for their children
to take the bus, instead of the parent driving them alone to school. In addition, staff worked with
the transit agencies to develop and produce updated bus schedules which explain the bus
routes which service each school, detailed by district. A route map was then included with time
schedules to provide parents with additional information to encourage transit use if carpooling
didn't work out for them. This project serves western, central and eastern Contra Costa. In
March and April, schools were contacted to determine the projected number of students for the
next year, and to determine when schools needed to receive forms for Fall. Since there are
year-round schools in Contra Costa, some schools needed forms as early as May since school
begins in early July. Carpool ridematching forms for over 140,000 school children were sent
directly to schools and distributed in Fall registration packets or in some cases, through the
teachers. Contact with school PTAs, school districts and school principals were made to
encourage distribution of the information to all parents.
As ridematch applications were received, a ridematch listing of parents also interested in
carpooling from the school was sent within three days. Approximately four ridematch lists were
sent to each parent during the course of the first three months of the school year and additional
requests were sent out throughout the year as new parents moved into the school area, or as
parents’ commute patterns changed. CC CAN staff does all of the ridematching in-house by
school. Parents are sent the updated ridematch lists for each school for which they have a
student, therefor making it easier if a parent with a student at one school can't find a partner, in
some cases the ridematch list from the other student's school works out.
B) College Commute Program
In addition to the K-12 SchoolPool program, staff further developed a College Commute
Program to encourage students at technical schools and colleges in Contra Costa to carpool or
take transit to those locations (eg. Diablo Valley College, Contra Costa College, Los Medanos
College, St. Mary’s College, Heald Business School, Silicon Valley College, John F. Kennedy
University, etc.. This is especially important since most college students at community colleges
TRANSPAC/City of Pleasant Hill 1
CC CAN Project
SchoolPool Program (West/Central/East County)
Date _September 2003________
or technical schools tend to drive alone at a higher rate than 4-year colleges because they are
commuter schools. Parking at many colleges and technical schools in Contra Costa is also very
constrained. Information was distributed to encourage those who needed carpool partners to
contact the Regional Rideshare Program for a ridematch, and bike maps were provided for
cyclists. Incentive brochures were sent to DVC, Contra Costa College and Los Medanos
College in June for the Fall registration packets. The other technical schools have supplies of
the brochures and CC CAN contacts them during the year to keep the brochures stocked. Since
student schedules change each quarter or semester, new information is needed to ensure that
students continue to carpool or take transit to campus. Student one-way trip distances are lower
than other commuters, and average only 10 one-way mile trip lengths. Students received either
a $20 gas card for each carpool participant, or $20-$40 transit passes, depending upon if their
trip involves more than one transit link (e.g. BART and County Connection) in which case they
get a pass for each.
2. Monitoring Methodology:
A) Carpool Ridematching Trips Reduced:
This year, 321 ridematch requests were received from parents with children at K-12 schools. Of
those who could be reached via a telephone follow-up survey, and a follow-up mail survey, 55%
said that they formed carpools with other parents. Using this average, it is estimated that of the
321 participants, 177 parents formed carpools with others. The reduced trips are based on the
number of non-siblings in the carpools. Carpools averaged 1.06 non-sibling passengers per
vehicle (based on information given by parents). Taking the 177 parent drivers, multiplying by
the 1.06 passenger rate, this equals 188 reduced trip segments. Since parents must drive back
and forth in the mornings, and again in the afternoons to pick up their children, there are two
round trips taken (four one-way trip segments total). Allowing for 25% of the trips to be drop-offs
on the way to work or for children to walk, this leaves three one-way trips being saved for each
non-sibling. With 188 non-siblings, this equals 564 one-way trips reduced.
A follow-up phone survey was also conducted of participants from the previous year's
SchoolPool program (SchoolPool FY 2000/01). Of the 488 total participants, CC CAN was able
to contact 48. Of the respondents, 20 (42%) indicated that they have continued to carpool.
Based on this follow-up survey, of the total 488 participants, 205 (42%) continued to carpool
their children to school. Generally when carpools are formed in Kindergarten, they continue
through elementary school although CC CAN is unable to capture those continued reduced trips
to receive credit for the longitudinal benefits of the program.
B) K-12 Transit Trips reduced:
Of the 559 parents who received bus tickets for their student children, CC CAN was able to
contact 163. Of those, 98% said that they continued to have their children ride the bus through
the year, which represents 548 students who continued to take the bus. Since there are two
round-trips needed to get children to and from school, and assuming that one of those four
segments is a drop-off or walk home, this totals 3 reduced trips per student per day. Therefore
548 X 3 = 1,644 reduced trips.
TRANSPAC/City of Pleasant Hill 2
CC CAN Project
SchoolPool Program (West/Central/East County)
Date _September 2003________
C) College Commuters - Of the college carpool commuters there were 485 participants, 226 of
whom were drivers, with 259 passengers (averaging a 1.15 passenger rate, meaning there was
on average of more than one passenger per carpool).
The following three tables indicate results from the SchoolPool Program:
3. A) Project Data: SchoolPool - Carpool Formation Project:
Project Component # Schools Total Average $ # Trips # Avg.
(# of participants) Participating Target Value of Reduced Days One
Population Incentives Per Day Per Way
(One Way) Year Trip
Distance
188 non-sibling 150 schools 160,000+ N/A 564 one- 180 *4.8
students in each participating students (none way trips
carpool (2001/02) given) reduced
(see #2 above)
205 participants still N/A N/A N/A 615 one- 180 4.8
carpooling from way trips
2000/01 (42% of
total)
B) K-12 Transit Incentive Project:
Project Total # Total $ Value of # Trips Reduced # Days Avg. One Way
Component Recipients Incentives Provided Per Day (One Way) Per Year Trip Distance
New student 548 K-12 $10,554 1,644 180 4.8 one-way
bus riders riders miles
*This default is high due to the large number of ridematch requests submitted from private high schools,
(especially De La Salle), where the trip distances are much greater. Some students come from near-by counties to
access private schools. In addition, due to the overcrowding of schools, more students are being diverted across
town, and are unable to attend their local school.
** A bus pass was sent when a K-12 parent indicated that they were unable to arrange a carpool with others on the
ridematch list. 559 total children took the bus as a result of this addition to the program, with 548 continuing to the
end of the year. Transit passes distributed were: 359 for County Connection, 4.5 AC Transit, 50 WestCAT, 142 Tri
Delta, 3 Benicia Transit, .5 Vallejo Transit, totaling 559 passes.
C) College Carpool and Transit Incentive:
Project Total # Total $ Value of # Trips Reduced Per # Days Avg. One
Component Recipients Incentives Day (One Way) Per Way Trip
Provided Year Distance
College 485 $19,400 520 (226 X 1.15 56 days 10
carpoolers (226 drivers and passenger ratio X 2 for *
259 passengers) one-way trips = 520)
College 200 $3,520 400 56 4.3
student bus
riders
College BART 136 $2,724 272 56 27
riders
College train 1 $66 2 56 31
riders
TRANSPAC/City of Pleasant Hill 3
CC CAN Project
SchoolPool Program (West/Central/East County)
Date _September 2003________
* The average number of days of effectiveness for college commuters is 56 days due to the average number of
days each quarter /semester.
TRANSPAC/City of Pleasant Hill 4
CC CAN Project