COLUMBUS, Ind. – On Thursday afternoon, the three partners implementing the vanpool program in Columbus held an open house and presentation at city hall to explain the program to the public. The three partners are the city of Columbus, Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority (CIRTA) and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Enterprise provides the vans, CIRTA reaches out to employers to determine need, and the city shares the cost.
The concept is that four to 15 people, who either work at the same place or near each other, form a vanpool and meet each workday in a common location. The groups rotate drivers and designate one person as the coordinator, who reports on mileage and fuel to Enterprise. Currently, five vans bring people from points north to Cummins facilities in Columbus.
Anyone interested in forming or joining a vanpool should go to CommuterConnect.us. The site offers filters based on various kinds of personal preferences.