LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
With gas prices on the rise, the VIA vanpooling service succeeds in saving uniformed and civilian Airmen money weekly at Bldg. 171.
More than 250 riders in more than 30 vans average about $33 in savings a week using the vanpool program, said Cindy Shelton, the program manager.
The Department of Defense Mass Transit Benefit Program promotes vanpool use by DOD members. The MTBP is designed to offset commuting costs incurred by qualifying personnel, to reduce pollution and traffic congestion, and to preserve the environment.
According to Ms. Shelton, vanpools are a cost effective way for government employees to use mass transit. Although the cost of a group of five people is completely covered, groups of four are still only paying a small amount out of pocket compared to the cost of a full tank of gas.
The biggest myth heard at Bldg. 171 is that it is inconvenient, said Ms. Shelton.
"A van is given 200 extra miles a month for the vanpool members to use for anything they want - if they are a driver," Ms. Shelton said, "Some people take the van to lunch every day, some to the gym, and often, it is used to get someone to an appointment and back."
A widely used tool that goes hand-in-hand with the vanpool program is the 30-mile CARE taxi vouchers, or the Certified Auto Ride in an Emergency program. These vouchers are offered for five dollars if you are in a valid vanpool.
Anna Beausoleil, an employee at Bldg. 171 who uses the vanpool program, has used CARE vouchers.
"It comes in handy," Ms. Beausoleil said. "If you exceed 30 miles you have to use either another voucher or pay out of pocket. It's only five dollars for four vouchers, and once you use all four, then you just reapply."
The distance that many have had to travel since their offices relocated to Bldg. 171, from places such as downtown San Antonio and Randolph Air Force Base, is one of the reasons the vanpool has been such a success at Bldg. 171, said Ms. Shelton.
Ms. Beausoleil said she lives by the San Antonio Airport and before her office relocated to Bldg. 171 she was able to ride the city buses to work and back. However, now that she has to go all the way to Bldg. 171, she has switched to using the vanpools.
The best part of the vanpool is meeting new people with different jobs and ending up in a new family of sorts, said Ms. Beausoleil.
"The way the economy is," she continued, "this is the greatest resource."
For more information about the program, contact Todd Deane at 671-6112, 2nd Lt. Gregory Brown at 671-2760, or for people working in Bldg. 171, Cindy Shelton at 395-7731.