• RideShare Week winners
• New RideShare radio jingle
• Nuride discontinued in C’ville; Zimride at UVA and JMU
• National College relocating – students and staff encouraged to carpool
• RideShare at Quadruplicity

Eighth Annual RideShare Week

The eighth annual RideShare Week was held October 17-21. To kickoff the event, RideShare representatives met commuters at the Waynesboro and Zion Crossroads Park & Ride lots and gave out chocolate bars to thank them for sharing the ride. Throughout the event week, commuters were encouraged to take the RideShare Pledge to carpool or use another alternative to driving alone. Pledge entries were entered into a drawing for various prizes, including gas cards, Starbucks gift cards and Visa gift cards. The grand prize of a $150 Visa gift card was awarded to Kristy Scott, who carpools from Harrisonburg to Charlottesville.

Along with the pledge entries, several comments were received from RideShare participants. Fortunately, all the comments were positive. Here are a few that really made us smile.

“Best decision I ever made was to contact RideShare and join a carpool. Not only do I save money but I have made friends with three really good folks!”

Anne (commutes from Staunton to Charlottesville)

“I had an employee w/cancer and started picking her up from her home in Madison quite some time ago.  When she got stronger we decided that she would drive one week and I would drive the next.  We have been doing this for about six months now.  It has saved on fuel, wear and tear on the car, traffic and of course the environment. I'm so happy she decided to do it with me.”

Lori (commutes from Reva to Charlottesville)

“Thanks for running a great program.”

Jeff (commutes from McGaheysville to Charlottesville)

For more information on RideShare and events like RideShare Week, visit www.rideshareinfo.org or contact Lisa Horanyi at lhoranyi@tjpdc.org.

back to top

We want to let people know about RideShare, especially when they are driving (alone?) and listening to the radio. What better way than with a catchy jingle? Here are the lyrics (or you can listen here):

The free and easy way
To travel everyday
Get online with RideShare
We’re just one click away
The air will be better
And less traffic too
Going green and saving green
Because you care
RideShareinfo.org
It’s nice to share

RideShare has several different versions of the jingle that allow for announcements of services and upcoming events. We also plan to use the jingle to produce a TV commercial later in 2012. It would be great to have some actual RideShare members in there, so let us know if you are interested and we will contact you for a casting call!

back to top

NuRide, an online program that rewards users for taking greener trips, is being discontinued in the Charlottesville area. If you are a NuRide member, you have through January 31 to redeem your points for great rewards including free smoothies, discounts on sporting gear and discounts at local restaurants. On February 1, your NuRide account will be disabled and your name, email address, and all other personally identifiable information will be completely deleted from the NuRide database.

NuRide, while available to everyone in the Charlottesville area, was a service provided by the University of Virginia. There is a new service called Zimride, which is available for faculty, staff and students at UVa at zimride.virginia.edu. University members log on to Zimride with their Netbadge identification or sign on to the service through Facebook.

There are several advantages of Zimride for the UVa community. Zimride provides carpool matching for all types of trips,

including weekend trips out of town and special events. The network is also connected with other schools such as James Madison University and Virginia Commonwealth University, so students can share rides between campuses. It is interfaced with Facebook, which allows users to network socially before meeting for a ride. Also, Zimride is affiliated with Zipcar, a service that allows members to use a car for an hour or more when they need it. This provides an option for Zipcar members that are not able to find a carpool match.

For more information on Zimride and other transportation options provided at the University of Virginia, visit http://www.virginia.edu/parking/TDM.

back to top

.

Students, faculty and staff are looking forward to moving to a brand new location for National College, which will be located off of Seminole Trail near the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport. The new facility adds more classroom space, a medical lab, and better technology. There is one thing that some are not as excited about though – the extra miles added to the commute. This was the feedback heard when RideShare visited the campus last month.

Many people associated with National College will have a little longer commute to the new location, but they have their own transportation. However, the current location on Emmet Street is easily accessible by Charlottesville Area Transit, which several students rely on to get to their classes. Some are wondering how they are going to get to the new location and have turned to RideShare for help.

We encourage anyone affiliated with National College, whether or not you have transportation, to register for carpool matching at www.rideshareinfo.org. By registering, you may be able to help a student that may not be able to get to class otherwise.

back to top

The 2012 Chamber’s Annual Quadruplicity Conference, sponsored by the Virginia National Bank, is a transformative business event that gives women & men invaluable insight and applicable knowledge needed to take charge of what is most important to them.

This leading premier business women’s event centered on career, life, money, and health, sets the standard for women’s success in all quadrants of their lives. We hope you can join us!

back to top

RideShare recently merged with Commuter Information on Facebook to provide a single source of updates relevant to your commute in Central Virginia at www.facebook.com/rideshareinfo. If you live or work in the Charlottesville area, check out CAT’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CharlottesvilleAreaTransit.

back to top

Unsubscribe
You are receiving this newsletter because you have indicated you would like to stay informed on RideShare programs and projects. If you no longer wish to receive this communication, we will promptly remove your address from the distribution list. Click here to unsubscribe.. 

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