Carpooling to and from WHOI

carpool wanted signPrint and post your own carpool sign!
Simply click on the image to the left (pdf format).







Steps to Carpooling Success

  1. Determine your route and schedule.  Establish the morning pickup point(s) and a place to meet for the trip home.
  2. Decide on a schedule for driving responsibilities.  Lay out who drives when and how often members take their turn driving.
  3. Establish a plan for reimbursing driving expenses.  If the driving is not shared equally among members, decide what is a fair share for those not using their own vehicle as part of the carpool.
  4. Be on time.  Make sure all members of the carpool have a way to contact one another in case someone is running late or needs to make alternate plans.
  5. Establish policies concerning smoking, use of cell phones, music and volume, food and drink.  Carpoolers who talk about possible irritants in the beginning have a better experience and are more likely to continue carpooling with a positive attitude.
  6. Determine the best way to communicate among members.  If a driver is ill, or will not be going to work one day, an alternate driver should be contacted to make sure other carpool members have a ride.  If a member is ill or will not be going to work, the driver needs to be contacted as soon as possible.
  7. Communicate about upcoming schedule changes.  Be considerate of carpool members and remember to give them plenty of time to make adjustments for vacations and days you know you won’t be going to work.
  8. Drive carefully and keep vehicles in good working order.  There should be an understanding that speeding, recklessness and driving impaired are unacceptable.
  9. Make carpooling the purpose.  The group was formed to save expenses on commuting to and from work, do not allow members to use it as an errand service.
  10. Respect your fellow carpoolers.  If one member really needs quiet time in the morning, respect that need.  Members of successful carpools are in a continual give and take situation.


The average Massachusetts household spends more on transportation than it does on food: 15% of its income. Of the 3 million people who commute in Massachusetts each day, 74% of them drive alone. Why spend your time and money in traffic? Choose an alternative to driving alone - carpooling, vanpooling, transit, etc. You may have more options than you think.



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