May 20, 2010
University vanpools have vacancies
by Anne Krapfl
More info
- Vanpool website
- Van poolers share driving, costs (Jan. 2009 story)
If you commute to campus from beyond Ames and are nervously watching the price of gas creep up again, ISU's transportation services invites you to consider joining one of the university vanpools. The high number of retirements and early retirements this year has created vacancies in the vanpools from all four communities currently served by the service: Boone, Des Moines, Story City and Roland.
Participants pay a monthly fee that covers the vehicle, gas, insurance, a campus parking permit and a weekly service check by transportation services mechanics. That monthly fee, which currently ranges from about $55 to about $85 depending on the distance, is deducted from riders' paychecks.
Transportation services manager Kathy Wellik said riders in the same van need to have similar and constant work schedules, but other details, such as pickup locations or drivers, are negotiated among the members.
Wellik also said transportation services would like to extend the vanpool service to employees from communities not currently being served, such as Ogden or Nevada. She said four to five commuters are necessary to organize a vanpool. For more information about an existing vanpool or creating a new one, call 4-1657 or e-mail kwellik@iastate.edu.
