• RideShare Week is October 18-22
• Get Rewards for Greener Trips with NuRide
• New Park & Ride Lot at Ruckersville Wal-Mart
• JAUNT Friends
• RideShare Members Share Carpool Tips
• Like Us on Facebook

RideShare is celebrating the 7th annual RideShare Week October 18-22, 2010. If you register with RideShare through October 22nd or email us if you’re a current member, you could win $500! We’re also having a photo contest where everyone’s a winner! Read on for details on how to participate and tell your friends! Listen to 106.1 the Corner on mornings during RideShare week for updates and interesting statistics on transportation choices.

How to enter the $500 prize drawing:
Now through October 22nd, register with RideShare and be entered in a drawing to win a $500 Visa gift card.

There are three ways to enter!*

• Sign up for a carpool - find other RideShare members that match your commute
• Register your carpool - find more riders for your existing carpool
• Register for Guaranteed Ride Home - if you are already carpooling, taking transit or commuting by bike or foot

*Already registered? Just send us an email at rideshare@tjpdc.org with "RideShare Week" as the subject and we'll include you in the drawing! Be sure to let us know your current commute mode and how we may contact you if you win!

RideShare Photo Contest:
What does your commute look like? If you use any alternative to driving alone such as carpooling, transit, biking or walking, send a picture of your commute to RideShare and we’ll send you a $10 Starbucks card! Send an email to rideshare@tjpdc.org, post it to our Facebook wall at www.facebook.com/rideshareinfo or mail it to P.O. Box 1505 Charlottesville, VA 22902. Send your photograph via e-mail or mail by October 22nd, 2010 with your name, address and telephone number. If you are in a carpool, please include information on each rider in the picture so everyone can receive a card! If you post a photo to Facebook, we will provide you with a link where you can enter contact information.

The RideShare Photo Promotion is limited to the first 100 respondents. The value of the complimentary Starbucks Card will be $10.00 and the card will be mailed at the end of the contest week. Your photograph will not be returned and may be utilized in RideShare promotional materials. Please contact RideShare at 888-974-5500 with any questions.

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If you are currently carpooling, using transit, biking, walking to work, or even teleworking or have a compressed work week, now you can earn rewards for what you already do. University of Virginia has contracted with NuRide to provide incentives and carpool matching for UVA employees as well as anyone that lives or works in the Charlottesville area.

The program launched on Wednesday, September 29th and is available to residents of the city of Charlottesville and Albemarle, Greene, Nelson, Orange, Madison, Fluvanna, and Louisa counties. For more information or to register and start earning rewards, visit their website at www.nuride.com.

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A Park & Ride lot has been established at the new Ruckersville Wal-Mart, providing a convenient meeting place for Greene County residents that carpool to Charlottesville, Culpeper or Northern Virginia. The Park & Ride spaces are located in the lot on the right side of the building as you face the store and are designated by a Park & Ride sign provided by RideShare.

The Park & Ride lot was a result of an effort from RideShare and Greene County Supervisor Carl Schmitt with the strong support of Store Manager Pete Newbold. “Wal-Mart is a dedicated corporate citizen and the Park and Ride lot is only one of many ways they will help improve our community,” says Schmitt. “I hope commuters will avail themselves of this generous opportunity and contribute to betterment of our County’s transportation posture.”

According to the latest US Census Data, approximately 82% of Greene County residents commute to work in other locations, with over 50% working in Charlottesville or Albemarle County. The average commute from Ruckersville to Charlottesville is over 8,000 miles per year. By carpooling, residents can cut their mileage and commute costs in half or more, reduce wear and tear on their vehicles and help reduce traffic congestion. Commuters that park and ride are also more likely to spend money where they park and keep sales tax dollars in their county.

RideShare provides an easy way for commuters in the Central Virginia region to connect and form carpools and offers a free Guaranteed Ride Home to anyone carpooling at least twice a week. Register online at www.rideshareinfo.org or call RideShare at 888-974-5500.

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Transportation makes a difference in people's lives. No matter how wonderful the senior program may be, or open appointments a doctor may have, or job opportunities there are, people need transportation to get there. JAUNT's rates are affordable to most people, but not to all; that's where JAUNT Friends comes in. JAUNT Friends is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit dedicated to making sure that people can afford to get where they need to go.

The mission of JAUNT Friends is “Supporting JAUNT transportation services and providing fare scholarships to the passengers who need them.” Scholarships are available for JAUNT passengers who are struggling to meet the cost of their transportation. These scholarships usually cover the JAUNT ticket fare for one week. JAUNT ticket scholarship requests can be made by an individual or on behalf of someone else. To qualify, a person must be a resident of one of the following areas: Albemarle, Buckingham, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Louisa, or Nelson.

Any donation you give can make a real difference in the lives of people you see every day in your local community. All donations to JAUNT Friends are tax deductible. There are several easy ways to donate:

• Support JAUNT Friends by enrolling in the Kroger Cares Gift card program. Your participation in this program provides funds to JAUNT Friends without any expense to yourself.
• JAUNT Friends participates in the Belk Charity Day Sales each spring and fall. By purchasing a ticket to the sale you can help support the cause.
• JAUNT Friends is now a CVC Charity! The Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign (CVC) helps State Employees easily give to their favorite charities through workplace donations. JAUNT Friends has been accepted as a charity for 2010 and their code is 3553.

Donations and scholarship requests may be sent to:
JAUNT Friends
Attn: Development Director
104 Keystone Place
Charlottesville, VA 22902

Questions? Call 434-296-3184 and select extension 123 for more information.

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RideShare was recently approached by a local magazine doing a story on automobile use in Charlottesville. We asked a few of our members to contribute to the article and here’s what they had to say. Sarah and Diana each carpool from Waynesboro to Charlottesville (in separate carpools) and are members of RideShare’s Guaranteed Ride Home program. Do you have any carpool tips or stories you’d like to share? Please email them to rideassistant@tjpdc.org.

RS: How many days a week do you carpool?

Sarah: Every day! There are 3 in our carpool and we rotate driving weekly.

Diana: 4 days a week (I used to carpool 5, but I switched departments and now only work 4 days a week.)

RS: Have you noticed that you save any time or money in maintaining your vehicle?

Sarah: Absolutely. If I were to drive myself, I would put 250-300 extra miles on my car each WEEK! (So would everyone else in the carpool.) More than the maintenance cost savings, I appreciate the savings on fuel. Instead of paying ~$140/month in gas ($35/week x 4 weeks), I only pay $35 - $40/month to get to and from work.

Diana: Of course! The decrease in wear and tear is quite noticeable. For instance, the length between my oil changes has almost doubled because I drive my vehicle 3 times less than I used to.

RS: Do you miss driving your car every day?

Sarah: No. Driving can be stressful. It is nice to read, chat, or rest with your eyes closed while someone else drives you to work. The two others in my carpool agree.

Diana: No. My carpool is camaraderie. Having company for the commute is great!

RS: What do you like best about your carpool?

Sarah: We are very flexible. If one of us is taking a day off, we switch driving duties. We meet at the same time every day, and get home around the same time; other than that, we don’t have any ‘rules’. Carpooling doesn’t have to be regimented and dreadful. It can actually be fun!

Diana: We have each others’ backs. I’d also like to add carpooling is not for everyone. You need to be really responsible and conscious of your fellow carpooler’s schedules because what you do can affect your carpool. However, there are other sustainable modes of transportation – busing, biking and walking – that may work for those who would like to have a more or less rigid schedule.

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Do you like Facebook? Do you like sharing the ride? Then you should like our page at www.facebook.com/rideshareinfo. Connect with other RideShare members and get updated with information relevant to your commute around Central Virginia.

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RideShare – a service of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission and
Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission
PO Box 1505, Charlottesville, VA 22902
www.rideshareinfo.org.
(888) 974-5500