Jet Vacation, BMW : OCTD Spreads Its Wings for Ride-Sharing

The Orange County Transit District, which is usually in the business of transporting people on buses, is now trying to send somebody to Germany on a multimillion-dollar jetliner and give someone a year’s use of a pricey BMW 325e sports sedan.

It’s all part of a bid by OCTD to cash in on the popularity of the California Lottery by staging its own sweepstakes contest to promote ride-sharing as an alternative to “urban crawl” on congested freeways.

Winners, to be selected by random drawing, can win a two-week vacation in West Germany, with free use of a Porsche 944 sports car, or a year’s use of a BMW 325e sedan.

Hope for Car-Pool Use

Only half in jest, OCTD officials said they hoped the sedan would be used in a local car pool, a reference to the county’s reputation for upscale economics and expensive cars that are mostly driven “solo” on area highways.

The vacation is being donated by American Airlines, while the BMW is being contributed by Bob McLaren BMW in Fullerton.

Entry blanks include questions about the way sweepstakes participants get to work or school and their employers’ names and addresses. They are available from OCTD and must be postmarked by Nov. 14 and received by noon, Nov. 17, the day of the drawing.

Names of entrants will be added to a list of 70,000 Orange County residents who have indicated a willingness to car-pool or van-pool to work through OCTD’s Commuter Network program, OCTD officials said.

The contest, unveiled at an OCTD board of directors meeting Thursday, is part of a program commemorating statewide ride-sharing week.