Vanpool: Low-maintenance commutes, high-impact connections
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C-TRAN is synonymous with regular, fixed-route bus service, but in reality, we provide a range of transportation options. One of our lesser known, but nonetheless valuable, services is Vanpool, C-TRAN's commute trip reduction program.
Vanpool provides vehicles for groups of three or more people commuting to and from the same location. For a low monthly fee, C-TRAN provides a vehicle and covers costs like fuel, insurance, and maintenance. The benefits are many: Some people are interested in carpooling but don’t want to rack up mileage on their personal vehicle. Perhaps they don’t own or have access to a vehicle. Vanpool removes the responsibility of vehicle care and maintenance from commuters, meaning that the only thing participants need to worry about is actually operating the vehicle if they are the appointed driver, or hopping aboard as a passenger. There are some basic requirements to participate, but generally speaking, the most important thing you need to start is a minimum of three commuters who want to travel together.
While the financial benefit is a driving force for many participants, the emotional benefit of the personal connections made is just as important to some.
“Vanpool is not only great due to all the transportation benefits, but it groups together people in a way that is hard to describe,” says longtime Vanpool user Cat Smith. Over the years, Smith has been a part of a handful of Vanpool groups, which she affectionately refers to by the four-digit vehicle numbers assigned to each group. Out of all of them, Vanpool vehicle #1050 holds a special place in her heart. Following a brief stint in vehicle #1064 during the COVID era, she was reunited with vehicle #1050.
“Van #1050 got to hear ups and downs of work, life, and traffic,” says Smith, who works at the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center. “It helped initiate conversations and laughter, and brought together people from different departments who might have never met.”
Earlier this year, Smith once again parted ways with vehicle #1050, but under positive circumstances. Thanks to a grant from the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Public Transit Rideshare Program, C-TRAN replaced virtually all of its aging Vanpool fleet with twelve brand-new Honda Odysseys from a local dealer.
C-TRAN’s Grant and Vanpool Coordinator, Julie Maggio, had the privilege of passing the keys to one of these new vehicles to Smith. When Smith asked Maggio to snap a photo of her next to the new vehicle, it spoke to the human element of our work that those working in the office don’t always see firsthand.
“Although C-TRAN’s Vanpool program is small compared to other transit agencies, the impact is magnified through personal interaction,” Maggio says. “That photo moment …wasn’t just symbolic. It was gratitude in action.”
With these new vans comes enhanced reliability and safety, a smoother ride, upgraded amenities, and improved fuel efficiency. Beyond that, Maggio says, “It’s a message to Vanpool participants that their role in reducing traffic and emissions is valued and supported.”