Commuters can win prizes, save money and help the environment by participating
ORANGE – Rideshare Week encourages commuters to give up the solo commute and save time and money by sharing the ride today through Friday.
Rideshare Week is presented by the Orange County Transportation Authority to promote alternative transportation options. OCTA, which joins with other transportation agencies for the week’s events, will promote ridesharing throughout the entire month of October.
This year, commuters accustomed to traveling in a car alone to work are encouraged to ride a train, carpool, vanpool, walk or cycle to work – and especially to consider taking an OC Bus. There are more than 550 OC Buses that provide convenient and affordable trips to nearly every part of Orange County, and OCTA is encouraging new riders to give an OC Bus a try by following three simple steps: plan, pay and ride.
To highlight all that the public bus service offers, OCTA has launched a new website called myOCbus.com. The website includes a video showing how easy it easy to plan your trip, to purchase single-day or multiple-day passes online or at a local supermarket, and then to sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.
Simplified ride guides, with bus information for each region of Orange County, have also been printed in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese to inform all riders about service options.
First-time riders who try an OC Bus during Ride Share Week can go to myOCbus.com to request a ride guide and receive a free one-day pass to ride. Existing riders can also enter to win a free 30-day pass.
Commuters are also encouraged to consider sharing the ride by setting up a vanpool.
Rideshare saves time, money and helps improve the environment. A carpool or vanpool reduces transportation costs by 50 to 75 percent, lowers greenhouse gas emissions by 1,600 pounds per year, and provides more time at home, instead of on the road.
Commuters who contact OCTA to set up a vanpool between now and Oct. 30 can receive a $100 gift card and $100 off the vanpool lease per month for the first three months. People who join an existing vanpool by Oct. 30 also will be entered into a drawing to win a $100 gift card. For more information about vanpools, visit octa.net/vanpool.
