UofL has been building alternative transportation programs for some time. First, faculty, staff and students got to ride TARC free just by showing a valid university ID. Then came Earn-A-Bike, free bike rental and the WeCar on-campus car rental program.
But those programs weren’t options for many employees and students, said Carol Norton of UofL’s Center for Environmental Policy and Management and a member of the Alternative Transportation Committee. ATC, parking, and others on campus sought more options.
CARpool, one of the two new programs, allows two or more employees or students who ride to and from campus in the same car to split the cost of a parking permit and park in spaces in high-demand areas around campus. It also provides “occasional use” permits so employee and student CARpool members can drive to campus when personal circumstances prevent them from riding with their fellow carpoolers.
Employee CARpoolers also can take part in Ticket to Ride, a guaranteed ride home program the Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency offers that will pay 80 percent of their cab fare, said parking director Doreen Wood.
“Our goal is to reduce the number of private vehicles commuting to and from campus,” Wood said. “We now have the programs in place to do that.”
“CARpool is for people at UofL who need to come to campus regularly,” said Carol Norton of UofL’s Center for Environmental Policy and Management who is on the university’s Alternative Transportation Committee.
The other new program, Zimride, is more for people who need transportation to a single, out-of-town event, such as a concert, she explained.
Zimride is a social networking ride-share program that more than 350,000 people use on 125 campuses across the country. Two college students living on opposite U.S. coasts created Zimride in 2007. The program allows students, faculty and staff to find Louisville friends, classmates and coworkers going the same way they are. There is a site just for UofL ride sharing.
People interested in being CARpoolers can send an email to CARpool.