Carpooling is a fun, environmentally friendly and less expensive way to get to and from work, school etc. The following suggestions are designed to ensure that car pooling is a pleasant experience for everyone involved. It is up to each car pool to set their own individual guidelines. Guidelines should be discussed early on and regularly reviewed. 

Good communication and mutual respect of fellow passengers and their vehicles is the key to successful car pooling.  The points below may assist with communication.

Be punctual - Decide as a group how long to wait for a passenger. The usual waiting time is 2-3 minutes. It might be a good idea to synchronize watches.

Set up a line of communication - Exchange mobile and home phone numbers. It is useful to set up a phone tree to communicate with the group. For, example, if the driver is unable to carpool, they call person A. Person A calls person B and person B calls person C. As a group make a pre arranged plan if the driver is unable to carpool. If one of the passengers is unable to car pool, they should contact the driver. Be sure to let people know in advance when you will be on leave, etc.

Determine a route and schedule - Establish the morning pickup point(s) and designated places to meet for the trip home.

Avoid side trips on the way home - Decide amongst yourselves if you are happy to make side trips on the way home. This should be discussed early on and should be regularly reviewed.

Draw up a schedule for driving responsibilities - If all members of your car pool alternate driving, decide among yourselves if you want to alternate on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

Establish a method of reimbursing driving expenses - This important issue should be discussed in the early stages of car pooling. As a group it should be decided as to how driving expenses will be reimbursed.

Drive carefully and keep the car clean and in good order - Drivers should always drive responsibly. Ensure vehicle registration, insurance, and Drivers Licenses are valid.

Establish ground rules - Smoking, music, food, drinks etc. Decide amongst yourselves what is and isn't allowed.

Give your carpool some time to work - It takes time to get everyone's routine into a harmonious pattern so give your carpool some time to work.

More information can be found on the Carpool pages.