August 12, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Finding the perfect match

by Alexandria Rocha

The Terman Middle School PTA is launching a pilot car pool program this fall that could give relief to dozens of families, while also reducing traffic congestion and increasing safety in the campus' student-loading zone.

In an innovative partnership with the 511 Regional Rideshare Program, Terman this year will host the first online car pool network within the Palo Alto Unified School District. It will also be the first such attempt for 511, which is looking to tap into school commuting.

With 511's backing, Terman's PTA volunteers are confident their pilot program will be a success. Kirsten Flynn, the school's car pool coordinator, said it's a simple process. After parents register with a form available through the school or PTA, 511 matches them based on place of residence. Participants simply wait for their list to either arrive in the mail or to retrieve it online. Once they have it, parents can use the network as much or as little as they choose.

The program also has a few incentives. Once participants car pool 15 times through the network, they are eligible for a free oil change. Flynn also said there are talks about establishing a car pool lane in the school's loading zone, making drop-off and pick-up time easier on those drivers.

"This has the potential to really be useful in a lot of ways," Flynn said. "It is hard to pry people out of their cars, but there are so many benefits of carpooling -- gas prices, wear and tear on the car, having back-up drivers, not driving your child every day, traffic safety, the environment."

The car pool network comes just in time for Terman's third school year after re-opening in 2003 at its permanent site on Arastradero Road. The school is prepping to serve the most students in its history, about 680. The site also serves one of the district's largest geographical enrollment areas, making transportation an issue for many Terman parents who drive from Stanford and Los Altos Hills.

Martha Bowden, Terman's PTA president, said driving is the only option for many Los Altos Hills families who choose not to use the bus because the route has some students riding an hour each way. The location of the bus stops are also not ideal, she said.

"It wasn't a good situation last year," Bowden said. "We drive (to school) because I would have to drive them to a bus stop and it would be in the opposite direction."

Kathy Durkin, the district's director of auxiliary services, said the same three bus routes as last year will operate for Terman students this year. The routes include Stanford West, Black Mountain/Arastradero Road, and the Page Mill Road loop. Durkin said the buses served about 145 Terman students last year, and when there was room, Gunn High School students could hop on.

"Those busing arrangements haven't changed much," said Durkin, adding that "sign ups are good this year."

If the same number of students ride the bus this year, that leaves about 535 students to find another way to school.

Terman's PTA tried to get the car pool pilot up and running last school year, but Flynn said the pieces just didn't fall into place. It has been the case with various efforts around the district.

Palo Alto resident Kathy Durham recalls a city map posted at Ohlone Elementary School in the late '80s. She said there were pins placed on the map of families' interested in car pooling, and every year, a parent volunteer would have to remove the schools' graduating students and include the new ones.

"That was a labor intensive project," she said, adding that it seemed to work for those schools.

In the late '90s, Durham said the City/School Traffic Committee helped establish guidelines for car pool directories available at a few campuses, including Jane Lathrop Stanford and Jordan middle schools. Gunn has also done its own variation with a neighborhood-based list of parents wanting to car pool.

While attracting some parents, the lengthy process of filling out a form and having PTA volunteers do the matching proved too time consuming. Durham said with 511 doing the matching, Terman's program could attract more parents.

"It eliminates the wait," she said, adding that in prior attempts, "waiting for three to four weeks (for the match list), you're kid has been going to school already so you've figured something out. You're less likely to call someone you don't already know."

Debbie Maus, 511's operations manager, doesn't yet know how long participating Terman parents will have to wait for their match lists after registering. She did say that if the process is done completely online, parents could retrieve the list automatically via a Web site. It depends, however, on the matching tool 511 selects for the pilot, she said.

"We want to make sure what we're doing is secure and that the children will be protected," she added. "When dealing with a matching system there is a level of concern and security, and we want to make sure it's handled with the utmost care."

For now, Terman parents can pick up a form at the Sept. 15 PTA dinner or wait for one to arrive in the mail with the first issue of the school's newsletter, Tiger Talk.

The match lists, Flynn said, will only include names and phone numbers of parents interested in car pooling. Home addresses are confidential until contact is made, she added.

For more information, e-mail Flynn at kir@declan.com.

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