Welcome to Ohlone College's GreenRide!

As the College continues to experience growth, it is increasingly more important to remain proactive in our approach to how people get to and from both the Fremont and Newark campuses. We are presented with the challenge of finding alternatives to the traditional commute and incentives to encourage the reduction of single-occupancy vehicles. Ohlone College GreenRide is a web-based application that promotes the use of alternative transportation within the Ohlone College community.

By encouraging the staff, faculty and students at Ohlone College to reduce the number of times they drive alone each week, we can help preserve air quality, decrease traffic congestion, maximize our limited parking, conserve fuel and promote better health.

Ohlone College GreenRide helps you find carpool partners by searching for other students and employees who live near you and have similar schedules and lifestyle preferences. It's fast, friendly and offers anonymity until you decide to make your contacts formal. For faculty and staff you can use your Ohlone College email address to create an account, but for even more anonymityand for students simply utilize a private email service, such as Yahoo or Hotmail. You'll even get to see a map of the general area showing potential carpoolers near you.

Saves Money and Time!

Ohlone College GreenRide helps our employees and students:

• Decrease automobile expenses,
• Lower stress,
• Reduce pollution,
• Gain useable time for riders--read, sleep, work, and talk.

Give it a try. With the launching of the new Ohlone College carpool program, it is a great way to establish a carpool. But even if you don't, remember there are other ways to help reduce the number of single-occupant vehicles on campus, such as:

• Public Transportation,
• Bicycling,
• Walking, or
• Motorcycles and scooters.

For questions for comments, please contact:

George Rodgers
510-659-6257
grodgers@ohlone.edu

Steps to Carpooling Success Determine your route and schedule. 

• Establish a pickup point(s) and a place to meet for the return ride.
• Decide on a schedule for driving responsibilities.  Lay out who drives when and how often members take their turn driving.
• Establish a plan for reimbursing driving expenses.  If the driving is not shared equally among members, decide what is a fair share for those not using their own vehicle as part of the carpool.
• Be on time.  Make sure all members of the carpool have a way to contact one another in case someone is running late or needs to make alternate plans.
• Establish policies concerning smoking, use of cell phones, music and volume, food and drink.  Carpoolers who talk about possible irritants in the beginning have a better experience and are more likely to continue carpooling with a positive attitude.
• Determine the best way to communicate among members.  If a driver is ill, or will not be going to work one day, an alternate driver should be contacted to make sure other carpool members have a ride.  If a member is ill or will not be going to work, the driver needs to be contacted as soon as possible.
• Communicate about upcoming schedule changes.  Be considerate of carpool members and remember to give them plenty of time to make adjustments for vacations and days you know you won't need a ride.
• Drive carefully and keep vehicles in good working order.  There should be an understanding that speeding, recklessness and driving impaired are unacceptable.
• If you are carpooling for your work commute, make carpooling the purpose.  The group was formed to save expenses on commuting to and from work, do not allow members to use it as an errand service.
• Respect your fellow carpoolers.  If one member really needs quiet time in the morning, respect that need.  Members of successful carpools are in a continual give and take situation.