FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 2, 2004

Contact: Sheila Martin, BACS, 813-282-8200

Sandi Moody, BACS, 800-998-RIDE

Feeling the Pinch at the Pump?

Tampa, FL – Feeling the pinch at the pump?  Bay Area Commuter Services (BACS) is here to help!  Gas prices are hovering around an all-time high of over $2 a gallon, and driving alone has become more costly and inconvenient.  BACS can help commuters in the Tampa Bay area combat the high cost of gas with ridesharing programs. 

“Ridesharing (carpooling, vanpooling, or taking the bus) offers great savings for minimal inconvenience in most situations.  Car/vanpoolers who have commutes of 15 or more miles each way especially save,” says Sandi Moody, executive director of BACS. 

Compare an average monthly cost of $300 plus for commuters who drive 15 miles each way alone to work with monthly, unlimited-ride bus passes that cost $40 in Pinellas County or $48 in Hillsborough County (exempting express service).  Joining a carpool can cut the cost of driving to work by half – or even more if there are three or four people in the car.  Vanpool riders pay an affordable monthly rate, and people who live close enough to their jobs to bike or walk pay practically nothing if they leave their car at home. 

What if you don’t know anyone with whom to carpool?  BACS can help you with that, too.  “Several thousand Tampa Bay employees have registered with BACS’ computerized ridematching database to find rideshare partners”, says Moody.   “By matching home area, work location and commuting time of day, BACS can often assist in building a great car or vanpool”.

Workers, who walk, bike, take the bus, carpool, or vanpool two or more days a week should call BACS to learn more about the Emergency Ride Home program. 

For more information or to arrange an interview on BACS’ programs and services call 1-800-998-RIDE or visit BACS online at www.tampabayrideshare.org.

Bay Area Commuter Services is the non-profit regional commuter assistance program agency funded through the Florida Department of Transportation to help relieve traffic congestion and improve air quality in the Tampa Bay region by assisting commuters in using options other than driving alone.

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