Rideshare Application
Cherriots Rideshare offers FREE computerized ridematching to help people who want to carpool or vanpool find other people who live and work near them. The program looks at start and end locations, work hours and even preferences related to smoking or non-smoking. Fill out the ridematching application by clicking here.
What's Next?
Once Cherriots Rideshare staff get your ridematching application, they’ll enter your information into the commuter database and run a ridematch list to send to you.
Carpool Matches
After you get your ridematch list, we recommend that you:
| • | Call the people on your match list (starting with the first person listed) until you find a successful match. Then pick a time to meet each other face to face. Most people meet during their lunch hour or at a convenient place like a coffee shop to work out the details of the carpool. |
| • | Start out on a trial basis for a month or two. Agree to change things around if they don’t seem to be working. |
| • | Agree on schedules and pick-up points as well as waiting times and side trips. You can also talk about playing the radio, smoking, eating/drinking and car temperature to make sure the arrangement will work for everyone. |
| • | Decide who should pay for what. This will depend on whether you share the driving responsibility or one person always drives while the others always ride. |
If you are matched with an existing vanpool, simply call the contact person listed on your match letter and he or she will give you all the information you need to join the vanpool.
If you have a long commute and there are more than seven people on your match list who want to rideshare, you should think about starting a new vanpool. Using a vanpool can really save you money, and Cherriots Rideshare can help you get it started and keep it running.
About Cherriots Rideshare
The first rideshare program in the Salem area was formed in 1975 to help alleviate parking demand in the Salem Central Business District (CBD) and Capitol Mall area. In July 1979, the program became the responsibility of the City of Salem Public Works Department, and in July 2005 the Salem-Keizer Transit District (better known as Cherriots) assumed responsibility for the administration of the program, renaming it Cherriots Rideshare.
Though it started as a carpool-matching service, over the years it has expanded to include a wide variety of referral information and services. With its move to the Transit District in 2005, virtually all regional public transportation services were consolidated, allowing the combined organizations to efficiently serve Polk, Marion and Yamhill counties.
Resources
| • | For information on Salem-Keizer Transit/Cherriots Bus Services, transit trip planning and general information, please visit www.cherriots.org or call (503) 588-BUSS. |
| • | For additional information on Cherriots Rideshare, please call (888) 323-POOL or (503) 371-POOL. |
| • | For information on Valley VanPool, please visit www.valleyvanpool.info or
call (877) 826-4646. |