 |
Vanpool Participant Appreciation Get-togethers
The first of these events was held on Wednesday, March 21st for vanpoolers traveling to Oakland. Over 40 vanpool participants attended the Appreciation Lunch held at the University of Pittsburgh’s student union. The vanpoolers who travel to downtown Pittsburgh should have already received an invitation to an appreciation lunch scheduled for May 16th. If you have recently moved or changed your address you might not have received the invitation. The luncheon will be held at the Regional Enterprise Tower located on the corner of Sixth Avenue and William Penn Place, from 11:30 until 1:00. For those vanpoolers traveling to East Butler and Wheeling, watch your mailbox for the invitation to your upcoming event! [ top ]
VPSI has hosted annual safety trainings for the approved volunteer vanpool drivers. They will continue to provide these trainings. At the last training session, those in attendance were asked whether they would want to attend a defensive driving training and they said “yes.” Before we make any plans towards scheduling this session, we want to be sure we have enough people committed to attending and that it will be scheduled at a convenient date/time for you. Please send us an email to let us know if you are interested. Please be sure to include answers the following questions:
[ top ]
* * * NOW * * * Vanpool Recruitment Promotion – Can Be Financially Rewarding CommuteInfo staff is again making you an offer your vanpool group shouldn’t refuse! Each May we offer an incentive to help our vanpools fill empty seats as well as possibly add to a van’s Wait List through our “spring” incentive. We continue to work to raise awareness of the various travel options available to all commuters. We have appeared on TV, radio, supplied articles for local newspapers, as well as posted information on many local Internet sites. We have asked for your help in the past and, because you are our best salespersons for the program, we are asking for your help once again. Your participation could earn your van up to $1000 off of your July invoice. Here is how you can get involved and be rewarded:
So don’t wait to start thinking of people at home, work, church, clubs, etc. who you can refer to the program to become a registered commuter on one of our vans. To view a list of vans with available seats as of April 17th, click here. If your van needs to be added to the list of vans with available seats or should not be listed – please let us know ASAP. Any questions you may have regarding this promotion can be directed to me at mkessler@spcregion.org or by phone at 412.391.5590 extension 337. You may also contact Lisa Kay Schweyer at lkschweyer@spcregion.org or by phone at 412.391.5590 extension 375. Both of us are happy to answer your questions or concerns. [ top ]
The 2007 Vanpool Participant Survey Thanks to all of you who participated in the 2007 Vanpool Participant Survey. We have been told that 403 surveys were distributed and 169 were returned for a 42% return rate. As a courtesy, we were provided a list of the feedback those 169 people provided about the vanpool program and wanted to share it with you. The comments fell into 3 categories: vanpool vehicle specific, vanpool driver or rider specific and other. The top 3 comments are listed under each section. Vanpool Vehicle Specific:
VPSI’s commitment to customer’s safety and comfort begins with their vehicles. The split bench and luxury conversion models feature exclusive aftermarket conversion packages designed by VPSI - based on years of feedback from riders and drivers. The comments from this survey were forwarded to VPSI so they can be considered for future model year designs. Vanpool Driver/Fellow Riders:
** We were particularly concerned about the first comment - - since use of a cell phone by a vanpool driver is prohibited. This is a safety issue. If you need to make a call, please wait until you are done with your commute or ask another approved driver to take over until you are finished with your call. ** The CommuteInfo program provides a monthly subsidy to all the registered vanpool groups. Last year, a gas card was introduced, which was eligible for additional subsidy. We have started having meetings for the vanpool participants, in which we hope to show our appreciation and hear your comments, suggestions. Other:
The issue of pre-taxed payments is really one for your employers. There is a webpage on the CommuteInfo website which outlines the benefit – click here to view the page - feel free to print it out and share it with your employer. One person who commented on ERH was contacted by CommuteInfo staff. The person did not know there was an ERH program. If you have not visited the ERH webpage recently, please check it out to learn all about the service and how it works. We also learned that there is still some confusion about SPC, CommuteInfo, VPSI and employers. So to help clarify…
SPC is also the region's designated Local Development District and Economic Development District by the US Appalachian Regional Commission and the US Department of Commerce. In this role, SPC establishes regional economic development priorities and provides a wide range of services to the region.
VPSI – The largest private provider of commuter vanpool transportation services in the world. The SPC CommuteInfo program contracts with VPSI to provide driver approvals, response to vehicle emergencies and semi-annual inspections of the vehicles. Employers – Some employers are more involved in offering commuting alternative benefits to their employees. Each employer decides whether to provide pre-taxed commute option benefits, parking benefits, etc. – and the benefits vary widely from employer to employer. Most often, the office of Human Resources is the primary contact for this information. Again, thanks to everyone who participated in this survey. [ top ]
Vanpool Participant Advisory Team The CommuteInfo program staff would like to invite anyone interested in discussing vanpool related issues to join a vanpool participant advisory team. The goal of the team will be to work with program staff to discuss current vanpooling issues, plan for the future of the program and provide feedback on any new initiatives. The team would meet monthly via phone conference during the lunch hour. If you are interested in getting involved as a part of the vanpool participant advisory team, please email us today. [ top ]
|
|
You asked for them…and now you have them - - opportunities to get together with other vanpool participants to share stories, experiences and provide feedback to help improve the program. In order to make them more convenient to attend, the events will be held in 4 locations…Oakland, downtown Pittsburgh, Wheeling and East Butler (the 4 destinations of the vanpool groups).
