Currently, the Puget Sound Regional Council's (PSRC) update to its long-range plan, Transportation  2040, estimates vanpools will grow toabout 4,300 by 2040. This is great news.

But our vanpool research shows with somemarketing and operational changes, there could be nearly 12,000 vanpools by2030! This equals about 192,000 trips per day. This means vanpools have thepotential to carry 20 percent more riders for $20 billion less than SoundTransit’s light rail expansion. The impact on reducing CO2 emissions and SOVuse is also more significant than any other transit mode, and vanpools do not require social engineering or forcing compact development.

I've met with PSRC staff and plan to present these findings to the Transportation Policy Board. I think the numbers are compelling enough for PSRC to reexamine their vanpool strategies.