Carolina's Office of Vehicle Management and Parking Services is working on ways it can help Carolina faculty and staff deal with the high cost of gas.

The office has been analyzing the home addresses of faculty and staff and correlating them to their net pay in anticipation of offering individuals public mass transit passes on a pre-tax basis via payroll deduction starting in mid-June, said Derrick Huggins, deputy director.

The office also has prepared a rideshare/carpool program using existing Internet technology that offers confidential carpooling referral assistance to faculty and staff who want to share a ride to work at the University from their homes, Huggins added.

A chart prepared by the office can help faculty and staff compute their weekly commuting costs in gas and show potential savings if they elect to car-pool or take mass transit to work.

"Faculty and staff who contact us about an interest in carpooling can leave their first name and contact information (a University phone number or e-mail address) and the town or area of Columbia they live in," said Ami Steele, faculty-staff coordinator at Vehicle Management and Parking Services.

"We'll add it to a list of the individuals who are interested in carpooling and will supply the information only to others who request it if they live in the same vicinity," Steele said.

To ensure privacy, the listings will be available only to faculty and staff who request them through University channels, Steele added. "We'll provide first names and contact information and let individuals work out any other information they might want to share while determining if they want to carpool.

"So far, we haven't had too many people asking for this, but as gas prices go up, we assume they will," Steele said.

Carpooling information can be submitted or requested by contacting Steele at 7-5160 or asteele@sc.edu.

5/08