For the first time in its 10-plus year history, the CU Boulder vanpool program topped 100 total riders and is nearing 20 total vans. While the program provides transportation for a small subset of CU’s almost 10,000 employees, it provides exemplary support for equitable access to transportation.
The majority of CU Boulder’s vanpool program members are frontline service employees who are low-wage earners working shifts that start or end when RTD buses are not running. Most of them struggle to afford living in Boulder. The benefit to CU Boulder’s transportation equity efforts can be seen in the diversity of the primary languages spoken by vanpoolers, including Lao (31), Spanish (30), English (16), Nepali (13), Chinese (3), Tibetan and Arabic.
Growth in the program is thanks in large part to significant support from local and regional transportation partners. For the past two years, Boulder Chamber Transportation Connections underwrote the cost of frontline service employees’ participation through a CDOT innovation grant, which led to a jump of 30-plus vanpoolers joining the program. The program also received support in 2016 from Commuting Solutions, and it receives ongoing subsidies from the City of Boulder and the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG), as well as CU Boulder’s Parking Services.
Employees participating in the program appreciate its affordability and flexibility. As one participant said, “I really love the financial aspect – $20 per month is great, and a lot of us are very happy with the cost. I also appreciate the support for vanpools. If there is an emergency where the vanpool is stuck or if there is a complaint, the vanpool program is very responsive and helps us with what we need” (translated from the speaker’s original Spanish).
To learn more about vanpooling at CU Boulder and how a vanpool program could benefit your workforce, attend the spring Connect Boulder meeting at the Boulder Chamber! More information about CU Boulder’s program is also available on the university’s Parking and Transportation Division website. To learn about how to add vanpooling as a benefit for employees at your company or organization, reach out to Boulder Chamber Transportation Connections: transportation@boulderchamber.com.
— Contributed by Clark Rider, CU Boulder Sustainable Transportation Specialist