Carpool to Dublin/Pleasanton BART with Scoop and get guaranteed parking
Commuters now have a new option for securing a parking spot at BART’s Dublin/Pleasanton station. BART is collaborating with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and Scoop Technologies to maximize the efficiency of BART’s parking lots through carpooling. Starting January 23rd, commuters who carpool to Dublin/Pleasanton with Scoop will be guaranteed parking until 10am.
Parking capacity has long been a challenge for BART commuters. BART currently offers 47,000 parking spaces at 33 of its 45 stations. All these spaces fill early each weekday. Among those parking at BART, 99 percent drive alone to the station, according to a 2015 passenger survey. MTC and Scoop approached BART last January to explore ways to incentivize more people to carpool to BART stations. Carpooling apps like Scoop provide an easy and flexible way to find a carpool match, and can verify carpool activity to make incentives, like guaranteed carpool parking at BART stations, effective.
“Carpooling represents a great opportunity to better utilize existing parking spaces,” said Bob Franklin, BART’s Department Manager for Customer Access. “The Scoop app is an ideal match to facilitate carpools to and from BART stations because the carpools are easy to arrange and can be verified to ensure compliance.”
Beginning January 23rd BART will set aside parking spaces in the permit area at the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station for carpoolers using Scoop. The app technology will verify that two or more people were in the car when it parked, and Scoop will coordinate with BART police to verify which vehicles belong to Scoop users.
Commuting with Scoop to Dublin/Pleasanton BART is easy: schedule your ride to 5801 Owens Drive either before 9pm the night before your morning commute or by midday for that evening’s commute. Scoop will notify you shortly after the deadline if you’ve matched with one of their 55,000 users. Scoop also guarantees your ride home if you are unable to be matched.
This project was made possible through a $358,000 Mobility On Demand Sandbox grant received from the Federal Transit Administration in October 2016, which includes plans for expanding the program to more stations.
Additionally, the grant includes enhancements to the app to make the trip to BART seamless for commuters. Scoop to BART commuters will be able to find a match, pay or receive money for the carpool, and pay for BART parking through the app. Enhancements will also synchronize travel times with BART schedules, add stations as destinations within the app, and allow drivers to indicate whether their vehicles are wheelchair accessible.
"We're very excited to be partnering with BART on this program,” said Rob Sadow, Scoop’s Chief Executive Officer. “The flexibility of Scoop, combined with the infrastructure of BART, will allow more commuters to share their daily travels and take cars off the road."
More information about this pilot can be found at rideshare.511.org