Carpooling is a great way to reduce pollution while also cutting back on expenses when you need to drive to work, school, or any other frequent destination. You may have neighbors or friends who pass a route similar to yours and carpooling can be a solution to any transportation dilemmas that you, or they, might have. However, you can’t just decide to carpool right then and there and expect it to go well. You need to agree on certain matters first.
Which Vehicle to Use
In a carpooling group, it shouldn’t have to be only one person who does the driving. If more than one person has a vehicle, then it would also be good to divide driving duty among them. However, no matter what kind of vehicle is being volunteered, whether it’s a brand new car or a used SUV in Phoenix, Arizona, it should be clean and perfectly roadworthy. All vehicles in your carpool should also be regularly maintained and serviced so you can avoid accidents and breakdowns.
What Itinerary to Follow
Once you’ve agreed on whose vehicles to use, you should decide on your schedule for every day of the week. Work out the times when people should be picked up and dropped off, as well as where. Also, agree on how long you should wait before moving on to the next location. If you allow pit stops and other incidentals, agree to these ahead of time as well. If you don’t, you might end up wasting precious time and defeat the purpose of carpooling in the first place.
What Is Okay Behavior
Each of us has our own habits and personal preferences while in a vehicle, but some of these might strike others as odd, inconvenient, or just plain unacceptable. St standards on what is okay and what isn’t inside the car. It doesn’t matter if there are different rules for each vehicle, as long as you all agree to follow said rules. Remember that you’re working with other people here, so everyone will benefit if you all respect each other.
What the Backup Plan Is
There are days when emergencies will happen, leaving a driver or a passenger unable to go. Because of this, it’s best for you all to agree on what you should do in case such events happen. For example, you can decide on who can be the replacement driver if someone cannot make it. It’s also good to set when and how one should notify the others of their unavailability. You wouldn’t want to spoil a day just because you weren’t able to let the others know about your emergency on time.
If you want your carpool to become successful, then you have to realize the importance of organization. You’re basically a group of very different individuals who each have their own lives but agree to work together to solve a common problem. Like with any other workgroup, you should be able to make certain commitments to achieve your goal. It will save you all a lot of trouble and make the experience enjoyable for everyone.
