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Although Congress began cutting back on the federal voucher that vanpool participants receive beginning this year, Therese Carmack still thinks it’s a good benefit.
The Executive Services employee pays about $15 a month out of pocket to commute to work from Lee’s Summit, Mo., to Fort Leavenworth.
Through the Fort Leavenworth vanpool program, Soldiers and federal employees can receive up to a $125 voucher per month per person. Although that’s a cut from the $230 voucher per person per month the previous year, Carmack said her van has actually increased by two people — which also reduces the cost for each person in the van.
“It’s a great benefit,” she said. “Not only the cost savings, but the social aspect of it. I’ve met people now that I wouldn’t have (otherwise) met.”
The $15 Carmack pays includes fuel, vehicle maintenance, insurance and administrative costs for the program. And, she can read a book on her way to work.
Debbie Hazelbeck, environmental protection specialist for the Directorate of Public Works, said the program might lose two groups of vanpools, but there are still about a dozen active vehicles with more than 100 participants. The vanpools currently run to post from Atchison, Lawrence, Olathe, Overland Park, Topeka, Kansas City in Kansas, and from North Kansas City and Kansas City in Missouri. Hazelbeck said there are also a few contractors who pay out of pocket to participate in the program. Sometimes, corporations will provide vouchers for contractors to participate in the vanpool.
“People have kind of decided that even if you’re paying an out-of-pocket expense, you’re not just paying for fuel, you’re paying for less wear and tear on your vehicle,” Hazelbeck said.
The program is managed by VPSI Inc., which arranges insurance, background checks of drivers and fuel cards for the participants. The total fee for vanpooling varies based on the distance and number of drivers. Hazelbeck said that’s why many groups are looking for more participants. They’re working on trying to start a vanpool to and from St. Joseph, Mo., each day.
“We’re always in need,” she said. “There’s one in Olathe that’s looking for more members and one near the Legends (shopping center in Kansas City, Kan.) that’s looking for more members.”
Alice Lee-Cook, national account executive with VPSI, said vanpools could also join with people traveling to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Leavenworth. She’s hoping to coordinate that in a van from St. Joseph.
“What’s most important for people to know is that it’s month to month, so there’s no long-term commitment,” she said. “If they decide to leave the group they just give the driver a 30-day notice. There’s no penalty.”
Cook said some program participants do travel five days a week, but there are others who choose a part-time option.
The vans can seat up to 15, so if one vanpool can recruit more members, it can receive a larger van and the cost for individual participants would decrease, Cook said.
VPSI also complies with the law, returning any overage from the vouchers back to the federal government.
Vanpooling also helps Fort Leavenworth meet its goal to reduce its environmental footprint by reducing the amount of fuel federal employees use to get to work.
“There’s a lot of logistics involved, but I think the benefit is you’re really helping a lot of people,” Lee-Cook said.
Although Congress began cutting back on the federal voucher that vanpool participants receive beginning this year, Therese Carmack still thinks it’s a good benefit.
The Executive Services employee pays about $15 a month out of pocket to commute to work from Lee’s Summit, Mo., to Fort Leavenworth.
Through the Fort Leavenworth vanpool program, Soldiers and federal employees can receive up to a $125 voucher per month per person. Although that’s a cut from the $230 voucher per person per month the previous year, Carmack said her van has actually increased by two people — which also reduces the cost for each person in the van.
“It’s a great benefit,” she said. “Not only the cost savings, but the social aspect of it. I’ve met people now that I wouldn’t have (otherwise) met.”
The $15 Carmack pays includes fuel, vehicle maintenance, insurance and administrative costs for the program. And, she can read a book on her way to work.
Debbie Hazelbeck, environmental protection specialist for the Directorate of Public Works, said the program might lose two groups of vanpools, but there are still about a dozen active vehicles with more than 100 participants. The vanpools currently run to post from Atchison, Lawrence, Olathe, Overland Park, Topeka, Kansas City in Kansas, and from North Kansas City and Kansas City in Missouri. Hazelbeck said there are also a few contractors who pay out of pocket to participate in the program. Sometimes, corporations will provide vouchers for contractors to participate in the vanpool.
“People have kind of decided that even if you’re paying an out-of-pocket expense, you’re not just paying for fuel, you’re paying for less wear and tear on your vehicle,” Hazelbeck said.
The program is managed by VPSI Inc., which arranges insurance, background checks of drivers and fuel cards for the participants. The total fee for vanpooling varies based on the distance and number of drivers. Hazelbeck said that’s why many groups are looking for more participants. They’re working on trying to start a vanpool to and from St. Joseph, Mo., each day.
“We’re always in need,” she said. “There’s one in Olathe that’s looking for more members and one near the Legends (shopping center in Kansas City, Kan.) that’s looking for more members.”
Alice Lee-Cook, national account executive with VPSI, said vanpools could also join with people traveling to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Leavenworth. She’s hoping to coordinate that in a van from St. Joseph.
“What’s most important for people to know is that it’s month to month, so there’s no long-term commitment,” she said. “If they decide to leave the group they just give the driver a 30-day notice. There’s no penalty.”
Cook said some program participants do travel five days a week, but there are others who choose a part-time option.
The vans can seat up to 15, so if one vanpool can recruit more members, it can receive a larger van and the cost for individual participants would decrease, Cook said.
VPSI also complies with the law, returning any overage from the vouchers back to the federal government.
Vanpooling also helps Fort Leavenworth meet its goal to reduce its environmental footprint by reducing the amount of fuel federal employees use to get to work.
“There’s a lot of logistics involved, but I think the benefit is you’re really helping a lot of people,” Lee-Cook said.
