Think your commute is a drag? If you’re traveling solo, ridesharing just might make your morning. As three Contra Costa County employees discovered, carpooling isn’t just for saving money, breezing through traffic, and reducing CO2 emissions–it can also be a great way to form meaningful friendships.
In late 2007, the story began when two commuters decided to share the drive from their homes in Antioch to work in downtown Martinez. After the addition of a third carpooler in 2008, what begin as a practical arrangement has since evolved into a fantastic friendship between the three carpoolers.
The trio’s friendship started with carpooling to work five days a week on Highway 4, “[flying] by all of the singles because we travel in the carpool lane.” Since then, it has–incredibly–extended past the work week to family get-togethers on weekends as well!
Said one carpooler of the friendship: “Had we not started carpooling together, there’s no doubt we wouldn’t have met each other because we work in different buildings downtown.”
By trading off the responsibility of driving to work and using the car for lunchtime errands, the carpoolers save gas money, reduce wear and tear on their cars, and benefit from reduced insurance rates because they put fewer miles on their cars.
Have a great carpooling story? We’d love to hear it. Please email submissions@511contracosta.org with your carpooling experience or favorite carpooling anecdotes and we’ll publish our favorites in upcoming blog posts.
Photo credit: Thomas H., TheTruthAbout
