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Los Angeles Metro Tailors ‘Metro School Pool’ Program to Encourage Ridesharing for Fall Term• Schools throughout L.A. County can now provide free customized carpool directories to parents The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has beefed up its ambitious “Metro School Pool” program to make it even easier for parents to form or join carpools to get their children to school this fall. The program, now in its fifth year, will provide a free, customized school carpooling directory containing street- and city-level contacts that parents can reference to expedite their ridesharing relationships. The School Pool Directory can be used to find partners for biking and walking to school as well. Schools are considered ideal opportunities for carpooling relationships, as many families within the same community drop off their children at the same time and location, often creating peak-hour congestion on surrounding streets and roadways. Carpooling to these campuses reduces that congestion and increases the safety of students and other pedestrians. “Besides reducing traffic and parking nightmares at schools, Metro’s School Pool Program helps save the environment by reducing air pollution caused by car exhaust, helping everyone breathe a little easier,” said Pam O’Connor, Santa Monica City Council member and Metro Board Chair. Metro will also provide schools with promotional posters and flyers to raise awareness of the program by students and parents. Metro School Pool began as a program offering free, voluntary and confidential matching services to parents interested in organizing school carpools. This option is still available and is open to students in all participating public and private elementary, middle and high schools in Los Angeles County. Participation is voluntary and parents share the task of driving students to and from campus. For information on the program or to sign up, parents should contact their local schools and complete a Metro School Pool survey. Parents either get matched with other parents from their school or receive a copy of the Metro School Pool Directory. Parents phone one another and determine if they want to start a carpool. Parents can then discuss their student’s schedules, arrange pick-up and drop-off points and decide how to share carpool costs and driving responsibilities. Schools wishing to enroll in the program can call Metro Commute Services at 213-922-2811. Metro-165
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