Carpool Connection -- the hidden reward of sharing rides

Elaine and I carpooled together today for the first time in several weeks. Our schedules had not overlapped, so we had a lot to catch up on.

She might need a ride later on today to catch public transit to the airport, which I'm more than happy to provide. Of course, I have my own self-interest at heart. I may ask her to pick me up at the repair shop where my car will be serviced for the day, or to give me a ride all the way home because I didn't have my car at all that day. [I usually drive to her house because she's on my way to work.]

Forget the selfishness, we have become friends, and friends do favors for friends. There is the unspoken expectation that friends trade favors. Even if she NEVER pays me back or I stay in the black ink of our "favor bank," that's fine too. I'm happy to help her out.

The ONLY way carpools last is when the carpoolers like each other, or, at the very least, can stand each other. I've had to stop carpooling with people who are too loud, too late or too self-centered. They are far outnumbered by the carpool partners I've met and shared life stories with, laughed and keep in touch with.

Non-carpoolers don't understand the silver interiors that come with the best fellow carpoolers. You have to experience it to become a believer. To carpool, you take a risk that you might have to break up -- because it's a bad match, or your job situation changes. Carpooling is fluid and constantly changing.

Too much of a good thing?

One of my clients, the headquarters of a multinational corporation, has a problem. Their carpooling program is TOO successful.

They have 20 acres of parking for 3,000 employees, several hundred registered carpoolers and about 100 carpool-only spaces, in prime territory -- adjacent to the building.

Some employees start carpooling to qualify for the prime parking spaces, because they don't like to hike 10 minutes from the hinterlands.

The problem: a shortage of carpooling spaces. To incorporate more spaces would require a re-thinking of the available resources, and possibly investing of technology and labor to manage restricted parking.

The big picture is that carpooling is good for the environment and good for other commuters because it reduces congestion.

The little picture at this big company is: designating carpool-only spaces and enforcing the policies requires an investment.

Building more parking is NEVER cheap. "Free parking" is a misnomer. Depending on the cost of the land, the cost of a SINGLE parking space ranges from $3,000 to $225,000 [Manhattan], plus the annual cost of maintaining it. The life expectancy of a parking garage is about 30 years.

Shifting away from single-occupancy vehicle commuting shifting away from traditional infrastructure, which requires time, money and planning.

Maybe this company will make preferred parking for carpoolers a central attraction to their parking situation.