Slice of History - Vanpool Then and Now

Thirty-five years ago this month, the Director’s Office issued a memo announcing a new vanpool initiative encouraging JPLers to join together to make a difference for the environment.

A 1990 JPL Universe article announced: “By establishing programs designed to encourage carpooling, vanpooling, public transit, bicycling, and walking, JPL is doing its share to regain our beautiful skies and to combat the current air pollution problem in the Los Angeles Basin.”

When launching the program, then-Employee Transportation Coordinate Joseph Courtney encouraged all JPLers to consider alternative commute options.

"It's very easy for employees who live a long distance from the Lab to see the benefits of ridesharing,” Courtney said in the article. “But those employees who live within 15 miles of the Lab, making up more than 60 percent of its workforce, must realize the importance of their participation in ridesharing too."

Since 1990, thousands of JPLers have taken advantage of vanpooling and the program is still going strong: JPL currently has 57 vanpools with 395 vanpool participants, as well as financial incentives to encourage JPLers to give up their solo commute.

All these years later, Courtney — now the Division Manager of Protective Services — said he thinks the program has fared well.

“It is extremely gratifying, both personally and professionally, to see the Vanpool Program grow over three decades,” Courtney said. “Nearly doubling the average vehicle ridership from close to 1.18 in 1990 to 2.10 in 2024 is a testament to JPL’s support of alternate commute options as well as our employees embracing those opportunities.”

PSD now also offers resources and incentives for public transportation, carpooling, and bicycling, as well as a Guaranteed Ride Home program, which provides employees who rideshare to work with a ride home in the event of a valid emergency. CL#24-6248

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