Ms. Sit,

Will METREAUX Matters also be covering the FTA Title VI Civil Rights "Findings" in the near future?

Royko,

     What are you talking about and what does THAT have to do with this METRO Matters piece on METRO's vanpool program?  Absolutely NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If Mary even remotely answers that question to your liking, then something is really WRONG with this picture!

I'll hijack this thread to comment that I saw motorcycle officers 2 weeks ago on the SW Fwy HOV ticketing single drivers for 2 days.  Keep up the good work and make it more frequent and how about a Blog Topic on that subject which is a pet peeve of mine.

Back on the topic at hand, I almost started a STAR Van when we were going to move out of downtown to a location off the Gulf Fwy out of the Metro service area.  Metro gives a discount to each rider and my company was going to toss in a subsidy which would make the van very attractive.  I will encourage anyone that can get 10 people together to look into this option for van pooling.  One of the perks I remember was a free cab ride home for emergencies for a certain number of times per month (or year) but I can't remember the number and don't want to misquote Metro.

P&R Rider:

I saw a STAR van WAY out of METRO's territory:  Broadway and 61st, at MM 0 on IH 45.  That is in GALVESTON.

But, if I am not mistaken, the STAR program is being run by METRO for the HGAC, so there is a common vanpool "system" in the area.  (Mary, please check!)

If that is the case, OK.  But I see the arguement that Island Transit should help pay for something that far south.

Also, there is no decal on the back of the van indicating the STAR service is a part of METRO

Just waiting for your next avian adventure!

I'll have to put some thought into pigeons and the STAR van program.  The waste heat from the van's mufflers could be used to bake the pigeons on the way home at night.  We just need the homeless to catch and pluck the pigeons so the STAR vans can bake them and bring them back the next morning.

On a more serious note, the STAR vans need not be downtown focused.  Metro has commuting from the suburbs to downtown covered fairly well.  Where they fall down some is the large employment centers away from downtown like NASA and Fluor in Sugarland.  The vans can target a specific employer and get riders who work in one location to match with others who live close enough to meet at one spot and commute to work together.

I rode a van for several years from SW Houston to my work near Gulf Fwy and Fuqua with 12 other people on a VPSI 15 passenger van.  It is a little hassle keeping track of who rode in and who left early so we had a daily check sheet.  Nothing worse than getting left 30 miles from your car.

P&R:

1.  Er, the homeless are going to have to clean the buses becaue of avian deposits.

2.  I agree with you about some of these vans being used in crosstown services.  Ths was discused in another thread, but Cedric, myself, and you, I think, agreeded that METRO should use vans for some cirulator and start-ups, lne the new 32, or the 39.  Maybe even some of the METROLift contract cabbies could provide the service.

IIRC, Metro is a facilitator in the STAR program.  They put 6 to 15 people together and arrange for them to lease a Van from the provider.  Metro even subsidizes the riders for $35 each per month.  The contract is between the organizer/driver and the Van provider and several size vans are available from a 7 passenger MiniVan to a 15 passenger maxivan with corresponding price differences.  For the hassle of driving and gassing the van, the driver usually rides for free but the terms are up to the people on the van.