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Share a Van, Save a Bundle:  Vanpool Incentives New Rider Rebate Pre-Tax Benefits
Picture this: your driver picks you up every morning; you settle into a roomy, comfortable seat; you have extra time to read, snooze, visit or catch up on paperwork. Quite a way to start the day! You don't even have to worry about finding a parking space or the wear and tear on your car.

A vanpool is a group of seven to fifteen people who live more than twenty miles from work and commute together on a regular basis in a van. Some vanpools are company sponsored, others are rented month to month from VPSI or Enterprise Rideshare, and some are owned by the drivers.

VPSI           Enterprise Rideshare

Traffic Solutions can help commuters join or form a vanpool.  We can match you over the telephone with drivers and/or vendors of vans in your area, or help your company set up a vanpool program at the worksite. We'll work with your vanpool to plan schedules, routes, fares as well as handle any day-to-day questions.

There are already many vanpools on the road. A lot of vanpools are registered with Traffic Solutions Online and will show up on your list of commute options. Contact any of the vanpool coordinators below for more information about routes and seat availability: 

Santa Barbara County Vanpools - Open to the Public
Origin Destination  Name  Phone (805) Email Work Schedule Vacancies

Cost/Month

Lompoc Goleta
(2 stops)
Cathy Bouchet 879-3004 Email Cathy 6AM-3:30PM 0 $
Lompoc Goleta (Raytheon) Tina Reigel   Email Tina 6:30AM-3PM 1 $165 (premium van)
Orcutt Goleta
(2 stops)
Ron Armstrong 879-2553 Email Ron 7AM - 4:30PM 3 $168
Orcutt Goleta Ed Weston 562-4920 Email Ed 6:30 AM - 4:00  PM 0 $135
Santa Maria Goleta Ricardo Villanos 562-4606 Email Ricardo 6:30AM-3PM 0 $150
Santa Maria Downtown SB Patricia
Frutos
260-4016 Email Patricia 8-5 1 $140
Solvang/
Santa Ynez Hwy 246/154 Park’n’ride
Downtown SB, County Health, Sansum Cheryl Campos 879-9531 Email Cheryl 8-5 4 $140
(or $8 for day riders)
Solvang Downtown SB Sandy Flynn 708-5611 Email Sandy 7:30-4:30 2 $107-$153
Ventura Montecito-Casa Dorinda Tim Gallagher 969-8083 Email Tim 7-3:30 2 $100
Ventura SB Cottage Hospital Lidia Rodriguez 569-7245 Email Lidia 7 am -3:30 pm 0 $108
Ventura Goleta Pedro Urbina 562-4262 or 4708 Email Pedro 6:00 am- 3:30pm 0 $130

Common Vanpool Questions:

Q: Once I join a vanpool, what's my commitment?
A: Most vanpools operate on a month-to-month basis, and require a month's payment in advance. Passengers need to give the driver adequate notice before canceling.

Q: What is my commitment if I lease a van?  Leasing a vanpool is more like a month to month rental agreement than a traditional car lease.  You will be required to pay a monthly lease, but the money comes from vanpool fares, so you do not pay this money out of your own pocket.  Usually, vanpool coordinators start a dedicated bank account and pay the monthly lease and gas costs out of that account.  Also, remember that a portion of the lease is paid by Traffic Solutions during the first two months the van is on the road (50 % the first month and 25% the second).  Click here for more information about the Vanpool Quick Start Program.

Q: What happens when the driver is ill? Or passengers? And what about vacations?
A: Each vanpool is created with back-up drivers for such times. Passengers may also sublet their seats to folks who want to give vanpooling a try for a week or so (while you are on vacation, for example).

Q: What are the driver's basic responsibilities?
A: Drivers must pick up and deliver the passengers, arrange for van maintenance (the leasing companies pay for maintenance), collect fares, and see that the gas tank is full. No special licenses are necessary, however a certification of good health is required.

$230 per month Pre-Tax Payroll Deduction

Implemented March 1, 2009, the Federal Stimulus act raised the pre-tax payroll deduction for transit and vanpool riders to $230/month, up from $120 in January 2009 and $115 for 2008. This mean you can now apply up to $230 a month toward your transit or vanpool costs - all tax free. As with the current transportation fringe benefit offered to transit and vanpool users [IRS Code section 132(f)], the funds can come as a cash reimbursement from employers, a pre-tax payroll deduction from an employee's salary, or a combination of the two.

Check out Accor Services Tax Savings Calculator and Emissions Calculator to see how much you could be saving through pre-tax deductions.

Employers should visit our Employer Benefits page for more information on implementing a pre-tax program.

Traffic Solutions is a division of the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments

©2007 SBCAG Traffic Solutions