Lots of Interest for Sept 1st

Let us know if you plan to be at the Pleasant Hill BART Casual Carpool on Sept 1st?
Add a comment to this thread if you'll ride or drive, and what time you think you'll show up...

I'm looking to caa pool with a friend of mine to San frnacisco. until now we have
been car pooling off at Orinda. If any one interested please do let me know.
I live in Coggins drive Pleasant Hill, and would love to do car pool all 5 days.
Contact number : 405 714 1297
Name is Venki

pleasant hill BART casual carpool

pleasant hill BART casual carpool

Check out the latest email news at:

http://www.sfride.com/blogger.html

Pleasant Hill went live on August 2, 2004! During August, the hours of operation are limited: between 7-8 am.

Very few successful carpools have taken place so far, but school is back in session and Sept. 1st is right around the corner...

Starting Wednesday, September 1, 2004, hours will expand to: 6-9 am.

1. keep telling people (pass out fliers, hold up sf casual carpool signs)
2. be a driver if you can (if you wait and no one comes, drive on to Lafayette, Orinda, or Rockridge, no risk)
3. riders: print off a sf casual carpool sign (don't give up, if no cars show up take BART and try again with a friend

If you have any questions, feel free to send an email to sfride@sfride.com.

Fliers at Pleasant Hill BART

Handed out another 25 fliers at Pleasant Hill BART.

Received about 3 more emails from interested commuters. Lots of positive words of encouragement, but very little show of commitment.

The staff at sfride.com will continue our efforts with communication. Please help spread the word.

Hours of operation to go into full effect (i.e. 6-9 am) starting Wednesday September 1st, 2004.

Small Successes at Shell

I arrived at the Shell (N. Main/Treat) at 6:55 a.m. and found one rider waiting.

We waited another 15 minutes, then decided to continue on to Rockridge to find a third. We ended up picking up two more in Rockridge, since there were no other cars.

Total commute time: 45 minutes.

See ya later.

As Awareness Continues...

Dear SF Ride,

I got a flyer at BART this morning(8/3). I'm glad PH is happening.

Currently I am a BART commuter who bikes to BART. I will experiment with being a rider probably next week(so don't count me in those stats yet).

Starting 8/26, I will also definitely be a driver on Mondays and Thursdays.

Feel free to email me at this address. I will be checking your website for stats from time to time.

Joel

Walnut Creek Location?

Hi,

I commute from Danville and am excited to hear of the new casual carpool location in Walnut Creek (Hillside/Ygnacio). This beats driving all the way to Orinda or Lafayette. Do you have any idea when the Walnut Creek location will go live?

Thanks for help,

Kurt

Casual Carpool Update 8/2 Results - Reply

Wow...I guess I'm glad I wasn't at the Pleasant Hill Carpool stop today...I would not have made it to work on time.

I think the 7-8AM window is what's discouraging me to try out the Pleasant Hill carpool. I usually like to get to the BART station at around 8:15AM, not a minute earlier and waiting for an extended period of time at the Carpool stop would definitely annoy me to the point where I'd rather take BART.

Also, I think the trek from the BART station to the Beverages & More parking lot is quite a walk. Are there any closer alternatives? Are casual carpool riders able to park at that parking lot the whole day? If so, that would be more encouraging.

Name Withheld

Email # 2 - Casual Carpool Results for 8/2

-----------------------------------------------------
Today, 8/2, there were 2 cars and 3 riders...
But they arrived at different times!!!
-----------------------------------------------------

Thanks to Dave, Matt and Steve for waiting it out. After 15 minutes they had to "call it a day" and made the 3-minute walk to Pleasant Hill BART, relegated to the same-old, same-old BART commute.

Where are all those DRIVERS and RIDERS???!!!

The staff at sfride.com received ~5 emails with questions regarding todays results and timing:
It appears that about 3 cars made an attempt to pick-up riders, but they were either:

1. too early,
   
2. too late, or
   
3. going all the way to Civic Center exit, instead taking Embarcadero/Howard exit.
   

Remember, the designated time is a short 1 hour window from 7-8 am (starting Wednesday, September 1st, it will run from 6-9 am).

1. If you arrive prior to 7 am wait a few minutes, grab a Starbucks!
   
2. If you are running behind, not much you can do, huh? Continue on to Lafayette, Orinda, or ockridge...
   
3. City Center? Duh!!! If you are going to Civic Center, thentake Embarcadero or Harrison, continue to Howard, let your riders off at Howard and make a left!!!
   

Riders, not much the staff at sfride.com can say... But please, please, DON'T give up, the extra 15-20 minutes you spend now walking back and forth between PH BART and the Shell station will save countless dollars, headaches, and frustration for hundreds and thousands of commuters.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Thanks for showing your interest

Regards,
sfride@sfride.com
http://www.sfride.com