Carpooling cuts your fuel costs in half, gets you into the HOV lanes, and allows you toll-free access to the Express Lanes.
- Calculate Your Savings from Carpooling
- Finding a Carpool or Passenger
- Guaranteed Ride Home
- Drive Less Commuter Incentive
- Park & Ride
Calculate Your Savings
Driving solo to work may cost more than you think. The average commuter spends more than $9,000 a year in gas, tolls, parking, vehicle maintenance, and time. Carpooling not only saves you money by sharing costs, but it also gets you into HOV lanes and allows you toll-free access to the Express Lanes.
Wonder how much you’d save every year by carpooling? Even with a short daily commute, you’ll be surprised by the savings from carpooling – both in money spent and CO2 emissions prevented.
Finding a Carpool or Passenger
Regional Ridematch: Register with Merge to find carpool matches and resources across the Bay Area. Merge will match your trip with other willing carpoolers along your route – saving you time and money.
At Work or Home: Another easy way to start a carpool is to find someone at your workplace or in your neighborhood who is also interested in carpooling. Commuting only with someone you know may feel more comfortable and safer under social distancing guidelines. Ask your employer for help connecting with other staff who are interested in sharing a ride. Connect with neighbors on a social networking service like Nextdoor and post a message asking if anyone shares a similar commute.
Buddy Carpools: Sticking with a single carpool partner you know may feel safer than travelling in a crowd, and carpooling can cut your commute time and costs. If you choose to set up a Buddy Carpool, please review the safety guidelines below. For more detailed guidance, read the CDC’s complete recommendations for safer carpooling.
- Do not carpool if you’re sick. (Seriously, just don’t carpool if you’re sick!) And don’t start carpooling again until you’ve been cleared from self-quarantine.
- Keep your carpool vehicle clean. Use an EPA recommended disinfectant on all touch surfaces: door handles, window buttons, seat belt latches, armrests, headrests, seat backs, etc.
- Wash hands frequently, including before and after every carpool trip.
- Wear masks. Passengers should also wear gloves.
- Drivers should open doors and trunks for passengers, but passengers should handle their own belongings.
- Limit your carpool to just two – a driver and passenger.
- Riders should sit in the back seat to create a physical space from the driver.
- Allow fresh air into the car by turning off the recirculating option.
App-Based Carpooling: When social distancing relaxes and open rideshare is widely available again, app-based carpool services offer low-cost, no-commitment options for sharing a ride to work. With a smartphone or tablet, sharing a ride can be as simple as a few taps.
If you can plan a few hours in advance, try Scoop, Waze Carpool, and Duet. These commute-period carpooling aps match you with a passenger or driver and offer a lower per-ride cost.
Join a carpool instantly with UberPOOL, Carzac, and Lyft (Shared)
| Service | Anytime | Instant Trip | Commute | Schedule Ahead |
| Lyft (Shared) | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| UberPOOL | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Carzac | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Waze Carpool | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Scoop | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Duet | ✔ | ✔ |
You’re Guaranteed a Ride Home!
We understand that having a vehicle at work provides flexibility in case of something unexpected. 511 Contra Costa provides a Guaranteed Ride Home in the case of an emergency or unscheduled overtime. We’ll reimburse carpoolers who work in Contra Costa County and need to use a rideshare service to get home in an emergency.
$25 Reward for Switching to Carpooling
Save money and make money! Switch to carpooling at least one day per week and earn $25 from the Drive Less commuter incentive program.
Park & Ride
Meet your carpool partner at an area Park & Ride lot. Click on the individual locations for additional details.
