Welcome to Vanpooling with VPSI!

Transcription

1 Georgia Regional Transportation Authority Vanpool Program Welcome to Vanpooling with VPSI! May 15, 2009 Presented by: Wendy Wishard, Project Manager Vickie Cody, Outreach Coordinator

2 VPSI & GRTA VPSI would like to thank you for the opportunity to be your vanpool provider. Due to your efforts as vanpool riders and organizations like the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, The Clean Air Campaign and VPSI, Georgia has continued to reduce auto emissions and taken great steps to reduce traffic congestion throughout Atlanta. VPSI is the only vanpool provider which has been under contract with GRTA to operate a vanpool program since In fact, VPSI is the nation s oldest vanpool provider which began as a division of Chrysler in In Atlanta, VPSI has a fleet of more than 400 vans and nationally the company serves more than 5,000 vanpool groups every day. Vanpooling is our business! With over 30 years of experience, VPSI truly understands the essence of vanpooling. Our customer service team located here in Atlanta brings more than 15 years of combined experience to meet your needs. Company History Our company started in the mid-seventies, about the same time the word "vanpool" was first uttered. A couple of enterprising young men in Chrysler Corporation's Office of Public Responsibility launched the Chrysler Employee Vanpool Program as a way to conserve fuel and reduce vehicle emissions. The program was a success so Chrysler organized a subsidiary company and gave us the mission " to provide innovative transportation services." During our formative years we worked with transit agencies across the country and developed the foundation for what is commonly referred to as "third-party" vanpooling - or vanpooling as we know it today - in several regions across the country. Since incorporating in 1977, we've grown and broadened the range of services that we provide. Today, the company operates commuter transportation and mobility management programs from over 40 customer service centers serving 50 major urban areas throughout the world! In just over 30 years, we've become the largest private provider of commuter vanpool transportation services in the world. We employ over 150 people, professionally maintain a fleet of over 5,000 vans and accommodate over 25 million passenger-trips annually in VPSI-operated vehicles. VPSI in Atlanta VPSI s Atlanta client list is a testament to our company s commitment to safety and service. Georgia Power, Turner Broadcasting, Home Depot, Delta, CDC, Ft. McPherson and many, many others have selected VPSI as their trusted partner in providing commuter vanpool services to their employees. At VPSI, we earn your business every day. Our program is based on a 30-day commitment which is our pledge to you that should vanpooling no longer be the best option for you, simply provide 30 days notice and return the van to us. We want your VPSI vanpool to be safe, cost-effective, and reliable and an enjoyable experience for everyone!

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4 VPSI Vanpool Basics As experienced vanpoolers, you are already quite familiar with the basics of vanpooling and due to our long-standing relationship with GRTA there are a number of similarities between the two programs. Route and Schedule Management Just as you currently determine your vanpool s pickup and drop off locations and the hours that it operates, VPSI believes that the group members know what works best for your unique commute and allows you to decide how you ll operate each day. Guaranteed Ride Home This program is managed by the Atlanta Regional Commission and is available to anyone utilizing an alternative commute mode. As always, you are allowed five free rides home each year to address any emergency changes in schedule. All that you will need to do is register annually. Please visit the Atlanta Regional Commission website for more details on this program. Driver Approval Criteria All vanpools must have a primary driver and at least 1 alternate driver. The most successful vans have numerous alternate drivers in order to share responsibility and to make the coordination of schedules as easy as possible. VPSI s vanpool driver approval criteria are structured to ensure the safest operation. The driver approval criteria are a contract requirement of the GRTA Regional Vanpool Program which all providers follow.

5 Below are just a few value-added benefits to the VPSI vanpool program: Vans VPSI will be making 2009 Ford E350 vans available to all GRTA vanpools. Safety is always our top priority. With over 30 years of experience, we truly understand van features that are critical to making your commute vehicle safe, comfortable, easy and fun to operate. VPSI vans feature tinted windows, power steering, running boards, front and rear air conditioning, power windows/mirrors/cruise control, CD stereo radio, and cloth/carpeted interiors. Also, VPSI offers a variety of conversion van products that may be of interest to your group in the future. On-line account management VPSI offers many resources to help you to manage all of your vanpool needs conveniently on-line. Our website provides access to accounting (including invoicing), on-line payments, data collection, GRTA monthly reporting, fuel-card management and marketing. Fuel VPSI offers a fuel card program. The card is pre-loaded with your estimated fuel usage amount. This amount is determined by the number of miles in your commute. Unspent balances are then credited back to your account in the following month. The limit on the fuel card can be adjusted on-line, allowing you to manage your costs as fuel prices fluctuate. Maintenance VPSI works in partnership with a local service provider, W.T. Standard. Through this partnership we are able to offer pick up and drop off service for any maintenance that needs to be completed on your van. We also provide a loaner van for the vanpool group regardless of the service to be done. Once the maintenance has been completed a representative will return your van to you and retrieve the loaner van. W.T. Standard has 3 locations throughout metro Atlanta; Downtown, Norcross and Woodstock and they service they entire metro Atlanta area.

6 Roadside Emergencies The handling of an emergency could vary depending on the type of incident; instructions for how to handle each situation are located in a pouch that stays with your van. VPSI has partnerships with a number of vendors, including a roadside emergency vendor and our partnership with W.T. Standard allows for any service to your van to be performed with no interruption to the group. As always the VPSI Customer Service Team is available to you 24 hours a day. Simply call VAN-RIDE and you will be routed to the local office. If it is outside of normal business hours simply follow the instructions on our greeting and a representative from our office will be paged. Marketing In addition to the marketing tools provided through your on-line account management access, VPSI has numerous partnerships which allow you and the highly trained Atlanta-based marketing team to market and help support your vanpool. At we offer a ridematching system that can match potential commuters to any available seats on your vanpool. We also have a partnership with The Atlanta Regional Commission which operates offering access to over 55,000 potential vanpool participants. We partner with numerous Transportation Management Agencies throughout the region who work to promote various commute alternatives, including vanpooling. These agencies coordinate commuter fairs with major employers where they showcase alternative commute modes. VPSI s marketing and outreach team promotes vanpooling throughout the region and we have a staff charged with promotion and marketing of existing vanpools to fill those empty seats.

7 VANPOOL FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Q. Will we be able to keep our current route and schedule? A. Absolutely! Current day to day operation of your vanpool will be up to the primary driver and/or the group as a whole. Your vanpool can continue to use the existing route and schedule your group enjoys today. Q. How are the VPSI vans different from our GRTA vans? A. VPSI will be making 2009 Ford E350 vans available to all GRTA vanpools. As with all VPSI van, safety is always our top priority. All VPSI vans go through an extensive conversion process making VPSI vans some of the safest vehicles on the road. With over 30 years of experience, we truly understand van features that are critical to making your commute vehicle safe, comfortable, easy and fun to operate. Q. How is vehicle maintenance handled? A. We offer a full service pick-up and drop-off service for ALL van maintenance. The group is provided with a loaner van for your group s use until your van can be returned to you. Q. How is the fueling of the vans handled? A. Our total transportation card affords groups the convenience of a pre-loaded MasterCard which can be used at almost every major fuel retailer throughout Atlanta. Q. How will the transition be handled? Where do we go from here? A. VPSI is the only vanpool provider who has been under contract with GRTA since 2003; we are quite familiar the current program structure. There are many similarities to the program and the transition is detailed below: 1. Program and Pricing Review Simply contact VPSI to schedule an appointment for us to bring a van by your location for you and/or your group to be able to see just what makes VPSI vans special. We will also review your group s estimated costs and discuss ways we may be able to customize our program to meet your group s unique needs. 2. Driver Qualification Since you re experienced vanpoolers, much of the groundwork has already been laid. VPSI will simply need to approve any drivers who are currently approved under the GRTA program. We believe our driver qualifications are the same as the GRTA vanpool program, so this will help to make the transition as seamless as possible. Once we have all of the necessary paperwork complete, we will be ready to deliver your new van. 3. Van Delivery & Driver Orientation VPSI will coordinate with each group individually to be able to pick-up your GRTA van and deliver your VPSI van at the same time. As we are conducting a driver orientation, it is advised that all vanpool drivers attend this meeting. We will be reviewing van driver s safety tips as well as both the roles and responsibilities related to the operation of the vanpool.

8 Whatever your vanpool needs, VPSI is here to help. We welcome the opportunity to discuss our vanpool program and how we can help to make your transition simple and easy. Please contact us with any questions or to schedule a meeting with you and your group at your location to review operations, marketing, pricing and any other questions you may have. Please feel free to call our local Atlanta office or visit us on-line. Local Atlanta Office - (770) Nationally VAN.RIDE On-line: Wendy Wishard x 104 Vickie Cody x 105 Project Manager Account Coordinator wendy.wishard@vpsiinc.com vickie.cody@vpsiinc.com Faye Green Glenn Prud'homme Account Coordinator x 101 Account Coordinator x faye.green@vpsiinc.com glenn.prudhomme@vpsiinc.com Guy Milord Allen Feather Account Coordinator x 103 Business Development x guy.milord@vpsiinc.com allen.feather@vpsiinc.com Tiffany Cephas Demetrius Green Marketing Coordinator x 109 Field Services Coordinator x tiffany.cephas@vpsiinc.com Demetrius.green@vpsiinc.com