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Send the Kids Back to School with Metro’s Carpool ProgramWith gas prices on the rise again, it only takes elementary math to calculate a dramatic hike in the cost of driving kids to and from school this fall. So why not join Metro’s School Pool program? Participating in a carpool can teach children math. Just one three-mile drive can cost about $3.35, round trip. Multiplied by five, that equals $16.75 a week, based on AAA’s formula of 56.2 cents per mile. Wouldn’t it be nice to have $16 extra for backpacks and lunch money each week? A carpool can also help improve Los Angeles air-quality for future generations, since fewer cars are coughing out harmful emissions for the kids to breathe. The answer is easy. Just join Metro’s School Pool program. It’s a free, voluntary and confidential matching service for public, private and charter elementary, middle and high schools in Los Angeles County. Several hundred families have already signed up. Kids also benefit because carpools help reduce traffic congestion near schools, making street crossing safer during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up periods. Participation is voluntary and parents share the task of driving students to and from school. To begin, parents or guardians fill out a survey for each child wishing to participate, indicating individual carpool preferences. Those surveys are returned to their school administrators. Interested families then receive a list of others at their school who are interested in carpooling. Home addresses are confidential and are not shared. Only phone numbers are provided. Parents can then contact families on the list to meet and establish carpooling arrangements, including pick-up and drop-off points, carpool cost-sharing and driving responsibilities. Metro School Pool does not transport children to school. Schools are rewarded for enrolling. The first 50 schools to enroll in Metro School Pool and return sign-up sheets from at least 25 percent of their current year enrollment will receive a $100 Target gift card. And once a year, Metro will conduct a drawing for one $500 Target gift card from among all participating schools with at least 25 percent of the student population participating. The drawing will be held by Dec. 1, 2006. Families that complete and return a Metro School Pool sign-up sheet will be entered into a drawing for four movie theater tickets. (This is limited to one winning family per qualified school.) The drawing will be held by Dec. 1, 2006. As a bonus, Metro will sponsor a pizza party for the homeroom with the highest participation in Metro School Pool at each qualifying school. To find out if your school participates, call the school. If it doesn’t, ask school administrators to sign up. Schools interested in enrolling in the Metro School Pool program can call Metro Commute Services at 213-922-2811. Remember, there are lessons to be learned, just driving to school. Or not driving. Editor’s Note: Metro is the proper name in referring to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of Los Angeles County. For the past three years Metro has been changing all its signage and other materials to reflect the name change. If you need a current Metro logo, please call Metro Media Relations at (213) 922-2700. Metro-141 Editor’s Note: Metro is the proper name in referring to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of Los Angeles County. For the past three years Metro has been changing all its signage and other materials to reflect the name change. If you need a current Metro logo, please call Metro Media Relations at (213) 922-2700.
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