|
December 2000
In this issue:
Prorating December Fares
Many groups do not operate a full month in December due to extended holidays and vacations. Some companies even close for a week or more during the holidays. If your group is planning to take some time off this December, you may pay a prorated fixed rate. December is the only month in which an active group may pay a prorated fixed rate.
Calculate a prorated December fixed rate as follows:
- Decide how many days your van will operate in December. Your group must pay for all days that the van travels to work. Record the number of December working days in the "Comments" section of your December report.
- Find your daily fixed rate on the "Prorated Daily Fares" side of your fare schedule.
- Multiply the daily fixed rate by the number of days your van will operate in December. This gives you the prorated December fixed rate.
- To calculate your riders’ individual fares, divide your December prorated fixed rate by the number of paying riders in your vanpool.
Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about prorating December fares:
What if some of my riders don’t ride every day that the van operates in December?
All riders must pay the full prorated amount even if they don’t ride in the van each day it operates. Remember, they’re paying to reserve their seats, just as any other month.
Do I need to prorate the value of bus passes too?
For December only, you do not need to calculate a prorated value for any valid bus passes. As always, if the face value of the bus pass is higher than the fare, the pass can only be valued at the same level as the fare.
Metro VanPool/Transit Passes Now Available "On-Line"
Metro VanPool/Transit passes allow a vanpool rider to use Metro’s bus service and may be applied towards the monthly vanpool fare. They are now available for purchase through Metro’s on-line pass ordering system. Two types of the monthly Metro VanPool/Transit Pass are available:
- $1.25/trip pass for $45.00
- $1.75/trip pass for $63.00
Please visit our website at www.kingcounty.gov/buypass/ for more information about ordering your pass on-line.
Table of Contents 
Vanpool User Survey Coming
In January 2001, all the riders and drivers of vanpool groups will be asked to complete a survey.
A mailing will go out to each Metro VanPool driver with questionnaires to be distributed to all the riders in the group. Please take a few moments to answer the questions, seal, and mail the survey back to the VanPool Office. The information will be used to help keep your vanpool fares low, develop marketing strategies for new products, provide information for fleet purchases and measure the effectiveness of current program features. We feel that your opinions and knowledge are important to the operation of a successful vanpool program, so please take the time to complete the questionnaire. As an incentive to complete and mail the survey back to the VanPool office, a random drawing of five riders will occur. Each will be awarded Rideshare Vouchers valued at $100 each.
Table of Contents
Recruitment Bonus: "Ticket to Ride"
Since the start of the "Ticket to Ride" promotion in September, 47 Metro VanPoolers have each received a $25 Commuter Bonus Plus voucher for recruiting new riders to try their vanpool.*
It is not too late to qualify for this reward! Simply distribute "Ticket to Ride" flyers to potential riders and turn in the completed "Ticket" stub of any new rider who tries your vanpool with the monthly report. Offer expires on February 28, 2001.
*Good at REI, Brown Bear Car Wash, Union 76 Gas, YMCA
Table of Contents
Getting ready for Winter Weather
The weather service has said we are no longer under the influence of La Nina or El Nino. We may experience a variety of winter weather patterns in the greater Puget Sound Region this year.
Getting the Group Ready
- Monitor the weather reports. Don't be stuck unprepared when a snowstorm hits.
- Designate who will drive if it snows. Some groups choose not to operate the van when it snows. Make sure you have enough trained backup drivers.
- Update or create a phone number tree for everyone in your vanpool so that calls can be made efficiently during any snow or other emergency.
- Plan alternate routes or pick up points for your van, especially if your route includes hills and back roads. Map a route that uses main arterial and well traveled roads.
- Make emergency carpool and/or bus arrangements ahead of time in case the van is late or doesn't go in. Will everyone carpool? Who will ride with whom? Will some people take the bus?
- Make sure every member of the group, no matter how infrequently the person rides, is aware of your snow plans.
Getting the Van Ready
- Always keep at least a half tank of gas. Never let the gas tank go below the half tank mark. This will help guard against fuel clogging and helps ensure that you won¡¯t be stuck in traffic with a low fuel tank.
- Create an emergency kit in your van. Sand or kitty litter helps aid traction under tires. The group may consider storing warm cloths, food and blankets in the van in case of delays on the road.
- Don't skip your daily or weekly inspections. Watch your antifreeze level in the coolant reservoir.
- Keep your VanPool Service Representative informed if your van needs any specific attention such as brakes or heaters.
- Check for an accumulation of snow and slush in the wheel well and around the tire. Snow in the wheel well freezes and may hinder motion. Keeping the wheel well clear will also help when installing tire chains.
- Park the van on a level surface. When parking do not apply the emergency brake if it is very cold and snowy. The brake shoes will stick to the drums in freezing weather. Instead block the rear wheels.
Getting the Driver Ready
- Be prepared to respond to a snowstorm. Listen to weather reports the night before, get up early enough to assess the snow levels and decide if the van will go in or if the group should make alternate plans.
- Leave early enough so you have time to react to road conditions, other drivers and to arrive at your destination safely.
- You know your commute. Watch for black ice, especially on bridges and low or shady stretches of the roadway. Adjust your speed appropriately. Remember ice can be tricky. While snow provides some traction, ice gives you almost none.
- Warm up your van first before turning on your heat or defrost. Your heat and defrost will work faster.
- Start up slowly. Try not to spin the tires when starting. Snow melts and turns into slippery, icy slush.
- Keep weight on the rear of the van over the rear axle. Seat your riders strategically.
- Test your brakes to see how slippery the road conditions are, continue to do this during the route.
- Drive slowly and increase your following distance. Let up on the accelerator gradually and sooner than usual.
- In traffic, wait for the vehicle ahead to start up and pull away before you start. Watch how that vehicle reacts to the road conditions. Count to 3 or 4 before following. If the vehicle ahead is skidding or sliding, allow a much greater following distance.
- If you get stuck, use a traction aid, (chains, sand, salt, cloth, kitty litter) under the tires.
- Skidding when stopping indicates your speed is too fast for the road conditions. If you do start to skid, steer in the direction the rear of the van is sliding. Do not suddenly let up on the gas and brake cautiously, as these actions can make your skid worse.
- Slow down well before intersections so you don't have to brake in areas where the snow has been packed down to an icy glaze.
- Remember, if you feel the weather has created a condition too hazardous to drive in, you may wish to use your alternate plan for getting to work that day.
Table of Contents
Signage Changes at the Federal Way Park and Ride lot
Vanpools using the Federal Way Park and Ride Lot may have noticed changes in the signs restricting use of the ramps leading in and out of the lot. The Washington Stare Department of Transportation, who has jurisdiction over the use of this facility and its ramps, has recently made changes to the language used on these signs to restrict use of the ramp to "Transit Vehicles Only." Signage on entry and exit ramps which formerly read "Buses and Transit Vanpools Only" or "Buses Only" now has been changed to read "Transit Only." The purpose of this change, according to Leslie Forbis of the WSDOT, was to standardize the signage and remove any confusion about who may use the ramps. Since vanpools are defined as transit vehicles, Metro VanPool groups may continue to use these ramps as they have for the past several years.
Table of Contents
Questions, Comments or Story Ideas?
If you have questions, comments or story ideas, send them to:
Table of Contents
| 
