As summer winds down and parents begin preparing to send their children back to school, TransVironmental Solutions' "School Pool" Rideshare 2 School Program is providing parents with a new way of getting their children safely to school, while at the same time helping to reduce air pollution. The Rideshare to 2 School Program is one of the many innovative programs of the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC), an organization that provides Clean Transportation Funding to projects dedicated to reducing harmful emissions from mobile sources. The MSRC funded TransVironmental Solutions to implement and manage Rideshare 2 School.
Parents who register for the Rideshare 2 School Program are provided with a list matching them with other interested parents who drive a similar route to and from a designated school. Parents then make the individual ridesharing arrangements for their children with the other parents. In addition to carpooling, walking and bicycling teams will also be created and encouraged to participate. The Rideshare 2 School Program is for K-12 schools.
The Rideshare 2 School Program is a partnership between the MSRC, selected Riverside County and Orange County schools, Parent Teacher Associations, the Riverside County Transportation Commission, and TransVironmental Solutions. The MSRC provided more than $227,000 in funding from its Rideshare 2 School Demonstration Program, which is designed to promote ridesharing and the use of alternative commute modes by school children at traffic impacted schools within the South Coast Air Basin in order to improve air quality.
Less than 15 percent of all trips to school are made by walking or bicycling, one-quarter are made on a school bus, and more than half of all children are driven to school in individual cars, the vast majority of which are a single child with a single driver. This decline in walking and bicycling, coupled with the absence of student carpooling, has had an adverse effect on traffic congestion and air quality around schools.
"The Rideshare 2 School Program is a win-win-win program for parents, schools, and the environment," said Cecilia McLaughlin of TransVironmental Solutions. "Parents win by saving time and gas money, and by helping to alleviate their worry about getting their children to school safely and on time without conflicting with their work schedules. Schools win by having increased parental involvement and communication, increasing student safety and deceasing infrastructure costs. And the environment wins because this program helps to improve air quality in the areas around our schools by reducing the number of car trips needed, and reducing traffic congestion and vehicle idling to drop off and pick up students," noted McLaughlin.
The Program will officially kick off at the start of the new school year and expand to schools throughout Riverside and Orange Counties. To participate in the Rideshare 2 School Program or to get your school involved, please contact Cecilia McLaughlin at (714) 716-8207.
Parents who register for the Rideshare 2 School Program are provided with a list matching them with other interested parents who drive a similar route to and from a designated school. Parents then make the individual ridesharing arrangements for their children with the other parents. In addition to carpooling, walking and bicycling teams will also be created and encouraged to participate. The Rideshare 2 School Program is for K-12 schools.
The Rideshare 2 School Program is a partnership between the MSRC, selected Riverside County and Orange County schools, Parent Teacher Associations, the Riverside County Transportation Commission, and TransVironmental Solutions. The MSRC provided more than $227,000 in funding from its Rideshare 2 School Demonstration Program, which is designed to promote ridesharing and the use of alternative commute modes by school children at traffic impacted schools within the South Coast Air Basin in order to improve air quality.
Less than 15 percent of all trips to school are made by walking or bicycling, one-quarter are made on a school bus, and more than half of all children are driven to school in individual cars, the vast majority of which are a single child with a single driver. This decline in walking and bicycling, coupled with the absence of student carpooling, has had an adverse effect on traffic congestion and air quality around schools.
"The Rideshare 2 School Program is a win-win-win program for parents, schools, and the environment," said Cecilia McLaughlin of TransVironmental Solutions. "Parents win by saving time and gas money, and by helping to alleviate their worry about getting their children to school safely and on time without conflicting with their work schedules. Schools win by having increased parental involvement and communication, increasing student safety and deceasing infrastructure costs. And the environment wins because this program helps to improve air quality in the areas around our schools by reducing the number of car trips needed, and reducing traffic congestion and vehicle idling to drop off and pick up students," noted McLaughlin.
The Program will officially kick off at the start of the new school year and expand to schools throughout Riverside and Orange Counties. To participate in the Rideshare 2 School Program or to get your school involved, please contact Cecilia McLaughlin at (714) 716-8207.