There are many good reasons to form a vanpool. These super carpools help commuters reduce stress and save money. For employers, vanpools provide a valuable employee benefit, reliable transportation, and a way to reduce parking costs.
Yet one of the requirements—having enough people going to the same place at the same time on the same day—has been difficult to fulfill since more people are working remotely, often on different days.
Now, however, OCTA has permanently reduced the required occupancy for vanpools from 70% to 50%. That means a 7-passenger vanpool only needs four regular riders, instead of five, to qualify for the $400 OC Vanpool program subsidy. Vanpools operate on a month-to-month basis with a turn-key service that includes the vehicle, insurance, maintenance, and customer service from an OCTA contracted provider.
OCTA helps both employers and individual commuters with their vanpool plans and subsidizes roughly 25% of the monthly lease and fuel costs. Learn more here.