Carpooling: Simpler, Cheaper, Faster | 511 Contra Costa

Carpool

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

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

At Work: An easy way to start a carpool is to find someone at your workplace who is also interested in carpooling.  Commuting with someone you know may feel more comfortable.  Ask your employer for help connecting with other staff who are interested in sharing a ride. 

At Home: Connect with neighbors on a social networking service like Nextdoor and post a message asking if anyone shares a similar commute.

On the Way: Casual carpool lets you join a carpool mid-trip to take advantage of high occupancy vehicle lanes and reduced Bay Bridge tolls on trips to and from San Francisco.

App-Based Carpooling: App-based carpool services offer low-cost, no-commitment options for sharing a ride to work. With a smartphone, sharing a ride can be as simple as a few taps. Join a carpool instantly with UberXShare and Carzac.

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.

Commute Coach

If you’re curious how carpooling to work might save you time or money, ask a 511CC Commute Coach. Give us the basic information about your commute and one of our transportation experts will contact you with customized commute options and information on available incentives. Best of all, the service is completely free.

Carpool Parking

BART offers preferred parking locations for carpools at all BART stations with reserved parking. BART’s Carpool Parking program, offered through the BART Official App, allows carpoolers to purchase parking and to park anywhere in the Reserved sections of BART parking lots.

Park & Ride

Meet your carpool partner at an area Park & Ride lot.  Click on the individual locations for additional details.

 

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