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Berkeley/Palo Alto Van Pool

What's the Berkeley/Palo Alto Van Pool? berkeleyvan FAQ

The Berkeley/Palo Alto Van Pool (aka berkeleyvan) is an efficient, cheap, and friendly alternative to driving yourself to work from Berkeley to Palo Alto. Subscribers to the van pool meet daily at Berkeley's Ashby BART station, with most taking a turn at the driving about once per week.

We're currently looking for another subscriber to join our van pool. On most days, and certainly until this seat is filled, there's usally still room for casual riders. At present, most subscribers are Stanford employees, but if your place of work is approximately along our established route, you don't need to be a Stanford employee to join us. We are willing to extend our route to the Page Mill Rd/Hanover vicinity if a new subscriber's place of work requires.

Following are the important details:

Our Route

Click here to view our typical route map (route may change if the KCBS traffic report dictates). Click here to view our route from the Dumbarton Bridge to the Stanford Campus with our dropoff/pickup spots indicated. Coming home, we reverse the route.

Why Van Pool?

Besides saving on the cost of fuel, toll, and wear & tear, (Stanford employee) van pool subscribers enjoy:

• Not having to drive every day
• Always using the carpool lane
• Reclaiming 2+ hours of their day to read, sleep, work, or just socialize
• Doing something good for the environment every day
• (Earning $216 in Clean Air Cash)
• (Paying for a portion of their commute with pre-tax dollars)
• Riding in a well-maintained & insured vehicle, knowing that your driver has been DMV and medically screened.
• Using the van on weekends for sightseeing, errands, etc. (certified drivers only)

Daily Schedule

(Arrival times approximate - traffic varies, but these estimates are pretty reliable in our experience.)

• 6:20am - Depart Ashby BART station
• 7:05am - Arrive Middlefield @ Willow (Sunset Magazine HQ)
• 7:15am - Arrive Stanford Medical Center (E.R. Entrance)
• 7:20am - Arrive Galvez @ Serra Sts (Central Campus)

• 4:00pm - Depart Galvez @ Serra Sts
• 4:05pm - Depart Stanford Medical Center (E.R. Entrance)
• 4:15pm - Depart Middlefield @ Willow (Sunset Magazine HQ)
• 5:05pm - Arrive Ashby BART

Fees - Commuter checks accepted ¹

Regular continuing subscription - $160/month
Casual rider - $15 round trip, $8 one way

You're probably saying to yourself, "Boy, that sounds expensive!"

Well, sure, $160 ain't cheap, but when you take into account Stanford's transportation incentives like Clean Air Cash, pre-tax payroll deduction for commuter checks, or similar benefits offered by many large employers, and then think about the physical and psychological costs of slugging through that commute by yourself every day....you'll also come to the conclusion that the cost of self-driving is substantially higher. Furthermore, if we can attract more subscribers and get a larger van, the per-person cost will go down.

Click here to see what van pool subscribers think represents the truth in cold, hard, cash.

You can also check out the VPSI Vanpool site for a feature-rich commute cost calculator and figure out the real costs for yourself.

Contacts

Send email or call these contacts for more information or to sign up for the Berkeley/Palo Alto Van Pool.

(1) Rates may change (up and down) periodically depending on factors such as the price of gasoline, ridership, van size, lease provider rate increases, etc.