South San Francisco, CA August 30, 2017 Commute.org Press Release 
C/CAG LAUNCHES $1,000,000 CARPOOL INCENTIVE PROGRAM FOR SAN MATEO COUNTY COMMUTERS
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., August 1, 2017 – The City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County (C/CAG) is launching a pilot program to encourage San Mateo County residents or commuters who work in San Mateo County to utilize private sector carpools during peak travel periods.
The Carpool In San Mateo County! program will leverage mobile carpooling applications (apps) to increase local carpool ridership, therefore reducing single occupancy vehicles, traffic congestion, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the need for parking within San Mateo County. Commuters are able to save time, money, and the environment through the Carpool In San Mateo County! program.
Carpool In San Mateo County! offers drivers and riders a $2 incentive per person for each trip that begins or ends in San Mateo County during the peak commute periods (5:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.). The program offers a maximum of $4 per rider and driver each day.
C/CAG Board Chair Alicia Aguirre noted, “C/CAG’s $1,000,000 Carpool In San Mateo County! program will inspire more San Mateo County residents and commuters to use carpools as a convenient alternate mode of transportation. C/CAG is pleased to offer discount incentives to ride-matched carpool participants during peak travel periods to help alleviate congestion.”
Carpool apps enable commuters to share rides to and from work by matching them with commuters who live or work near each other, effectively combining two trips into one.
Through a formal procurement process, C/CAG received two proposals from Scoop and Waze Carpool to provide dynamic ride matching for carpooling services in San Mateo County to reduce vehicle trips during commute hours.
The C/CAG $2 incentive is currently available on Scoop and will be expanded to a second app when available. Additional information about Carpool In San Mateo County! can be found at www.commute.org. The Scoop app is available for download on iTunes and Google Play.
“The Carpool In San Mateo County! program comes at a time when the Bay Area is ranked as having the second worst traffic in the nation. A county making this kind of commitment to shared commuting is a historic step in the journey to improve the lives of every commuter,” says Rob Sadow, CEO of Scoop.
Traffic congestion continues to be one of the biggest concerns in San Mateo County. C/CAG has a long history of funding and supporting congestion relief programs such as local shuttle services and trip reduction programs. Carpool In San Mateo County! is C/CAG’s latest innovative program designed to combat local traffic congestion
“I am so excited to promote the Carpool In San Mateo County! program that utilizes apps to make carpooling both easy and affordable,” says Maryann Moise Derwin, C/CAG Board Vice-Chair. “We all complain about traffic congestion in San Mateo County, and this program will reduce single occupancy vehicles on our congested roads and improve the environment by offering commuters a convenient alternate transportation mode. Another benefit: making new friends!”
C/CAG will evaluate the program’s impact on commuter behavior and trends by closely monitoring ridership, time of day, origins and destinations of trips (aggregated) and other relevant data.
The program is supported by C/CAG local congestion relief fund and funds allocated to C/CAG by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) as part of the San Mateo County Program Manager Fund. The funds are intended to be used for projects and programs whose primary objectives include reducing air pollution and GHG emissions and traffic congestion by improving transportation options.
About the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County (C/CAG)
The City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County (C/CAG) is the designated Congestion Management Agency (CMA) for San Mateo County responsible for the coordinating, planning, and programming of transportation, land-use, and environmental-related programs and projects. C/CAG provides a cooperative, cost-effective means of responding to countywide planning, transportation and other mandates from the State of California and the Federal Government. The C/CAG Board of Directors consists of representatives (elected members of the Council/Board) from each of the 20 cities and the County. For more information, please visit www.ccag.ca.gov
CLICK HERE for more information and to sign up today!
Can you use it if you live in san mateo county but work somewhere else
Shelley,
Per the information we received and shared, it appears yes. “Carpool In San Mateo County! offers drivers and riders a $2 incentive per person for each trip that begins or ends in San Mateo County during the peak commute periods (5:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.).”
Check out the links listed for more information.
Thank you.
-ED