Georgia RTA expands vanpool program

The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), along with metro Atlanta's largest private vanpool operator, is working to increase vanpool operations in the region. The vanpool program will help sustain private operations while putting more vans on the streets, and bring more federal tax funds back to Georgia. The RTA will provide a subsidy of 1.2 cents per passenger mile to VPSI/MetroVanPool and other private vanpool operators that join the program. That will allow them to reduce current fares by up to 30%. The operators will provide the RTA with information for the National Transit Database (NTD). For every van mile the RTA reports to the NTD, Georgia will receive 41.5 cents from federal transportation funds. These are new funds not previously returned to Georgia from federal taxes. The net result is that the state will receive about twice what it is paying out in subsidies. The RTA will provide its own fleet of vans to increase service in the region. The extra funds received from the NTD reporting will be used to offset the costs of the RTA vanpool program. One result of the program is that employeers currently providing vanpool service through VPSI may be able to increase the size of their vanpools programs without increasing their current expenditures for vanpools. The RTA ordered its vans in April, the last time it could order delivery of vehicles under the state contract until late fall. For more information on the program, click on www.187RideFind.com