So, a few of us from Team Carma recently took at trip to San Francisco so we could experience casual carpooling first-hand.
We wanted to stay somewhere in the East Bay so our commute would be as realistic as possible. Having lived in Berkeley a few years back, I had absolutely no problem when one of the guys suggested we go there!
On the Monday morning, we used Carma to travel to North Berkeley BART Station together. We parked our rental car and were greeted by two separate carpool lines – one for Civic Center, the other for the Financial District.
Our first pleasant surprise was how quickly the lines were moving (that’s me with the backpack!). Each line was made up of roughly 15-20 people, and a car was stopping to pick 2-3 people up every 20 or 30 seconds.
We split up so that some of us were in the Civic Center line and the rest were in the Financial District line. Within a couple of minutes, we were all on our way to San Francisco. I can remember thinking after I sat into my car, “that was faster than waiting for a bus!”.
Our driver was really friendly and she seemed really proud of how her community had come together to create this incredible commute alternative. When my Carma teammate and I got out of the car in San Francisco, we each offered her $1 towards the Bay Bridge toll she had paid (as carpooling etiquette suggests). She was genuinely delighted with this and hadn’t expected it. In record time, we were in the city and ready for our day’s work.
It’s true – there is nothing quite like experiencing something for yourself. I was amazed at how easy casual carpooling is in the Bay Area, and at the wonderful sense of community it generates. I’m looking forward to my next one already.
Rob @ Team Carma