Share the ride to lower the cost of your commute with a Vanpool! 511 Contra Costa offers support and even cash bonuses to get you started.
- What is a Vanpool?
- Benefits of Vanpooling
- Join a Vanpool and Save
- How to join an existing Vanpool
- How to Start a new Vanpool
- Need More Information?
What is a Vanpool?
A vanpool is like a carpool, using vehicles that seat 6 or more passengers for your daily work commute. Vanpooling lets you avoid wear and tear on your personal vehicle while reducing both traffic congestion and air pollution. Share the ride to lower the cost of your commute and take advantage of cash incentives for vanpool passengers and drivers.
Benefits of Vanpooling
Ridesharing is a growing trend in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the nation which can help with:
Join a Vanpool and Save
If you join a vanpool, 511 Contra Costa will pay half your costs for the first three months. To qualify, your vanpool must have a Contra Costa County origin or destination, and you cannot have been a member of a vanpool in the last six months or have claimed this benefit previously.
For Current Vanpool Passengers: If you recently joined a vanpool, simply complete the 511 Contra Costa
Vanpool Passenger Application Form to apply for the Vanpool Passenger Incentive.
How to join an existing Vanpool
- Search the Commute with Enterprise Bay Area Vanpool Program (click “Join Commute”)
- Check with your current employer about vanpools that may already be on the road.
How to start a new Vanpool
Owner-Operated Vehicles
Do you own a vehicle that seats six or more passengers?
If so, you could register your vehicle as a vanpool with 511 Contra Costa and receive both driver and passenger incentives. Drivers who start a new vanpool are eligible to receive a $1,000 cash bonus for keeping their van on the road for 12 consecutive months*.
Additional information and requirements for Owner-Operated Vanpools and incentives available for owner-operated vanpools through 511.org: Discounted Parking Permits and Free Bridge Tolls.
Leased Vehicles
Interested in leasing a vehicle to get a vanpool started?
Drivers who start a new vanpool with a Contra Costa County origin or destination can receive up to $200 a month, totaling up to $2,400 towards your lease payment for the first year while funds last! Additionally, by keeping their van on the road for 12 consecutive months, drivers are eligible to receive a $1,000 cash bonus*.
Additional incentives available for leased vanpools through 511.org: Discounted Parking Permits and Free Bridge Tolls.
* (To qualify, the vanpool must have a Contra Costa County origin or destination, and you cannot have been a member of a vanpool in the last six months. Please note, you are only eligible for this program after 12 consecutive months on the road, and may only participate in the bonus program once. After 12 months on the road, a 511 Contra Costa Representative will contact you regarding bonus eligibility and how to apply.)
The Bay Area Vanpool Program provides an all-inclusive vanpool leasing option to make vanpooling easy through Commute with Enterprise. Features include:
- a newer model, low-mileage van or SUV
- roadside assistance
- maintenance included
- a $500 monthly subsidy
Read more about Commute with Enterprise
Ready to get your Van on the road?
Register your Vanpool
Need More Information?
If you’re curious how vanpooling 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.
For assistance on financial incentives or available pre-tax benefits for vanpooling, call (925) 973-2547 or email cweeks@511contracosta.org.
511 Contra Costa is a program of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority. Vanpool incentives are made available with funding from the Contra Costa Transportation Authority and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
