Rideshare Program Extended to Area

Commuters in the San Fernando Valley and Glendale, take heed: up to $120 in gift certificates could be yours if you carpool, bike or otherwise shun the one-person-per-car method of transporting yourself to work.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has expanded its Rideshare 2000 program, formerly limited to users of three congested corridors in southeastern Los Angeles County, San Gabriel Valley and the South Bay.

The three-month program, designed to introduce people to the benefits of alternative transportation, will now include eligible commuters who work in the Valley, Glendale, Pasadena, north Los Angeles County, Beverly Hills, Hollywood and West Hollywood.

Rideshare 2000 is available to companies with fewer than 250 employees. To be eligible, employees must have driven solo to work for the past 90 days.

Participating employees must carpool, use public transit or commuter rail, bike, walk or even telecommute to work at least five times per month. As a reward, they earn $2 gift certificates for Ralphs, Target or Unocal purchases for each day they use alternative transit.

“The ultimate benefit is you ease congestion, you’re improving the air that we breathe, and you’re actually changing behavior by getting people to consider other modes of transportation that may save them time and wear and tear on their automobiles,” said Rick Jager, an MTA spokesman.

After three months in the program, employees may join Club Metro, another MTA commuter incentive program that offers discount cards for restaurants, video stores and other businesses.