MTC Partners with BART and Scoop to Guarantee Parking Spots for Carpoolers
Commuters now have a new option for securing a parking spot at BART’s Dublin/Pleasanton Station. MTC is partnering with BART and Scoop Technologies to maximize the efficiency of BART’s parking lots through carpooling. Starting January 23rd, commuters who carpool to the Dublin/Pleasanton Station with the Scoop app will be guaranteed parking until 10 a.m. The app will verify that two or more people were in the car when it parked, and Scoop will coordinate with BART police to verify which vehicles belong to Scoop users.
This partnership represents the latest step in MTC’s longstanding efforts to promote carpooling, which in recent years have included partnerships with several developers of apps or other high-tech tools. In addition to Scoop, the Ridesharing page on the 511.org website provides links to Carzac, Duet, and MüV(link is external), as well as our own 511 RideMatch service. Visit the 511 carpool overview page at rideshare.511.org for full details on all of these programs.
Parking capacity has long been a challenge for BART commuters. MTC and Scoop approached BART last January to explore ways to incentivize more people to carpool to BART stations. Carpooling apps like Scoop provide an easy and flexible way to find a carpool match, and can verify carpool activity to make incentives effective. BART will set aside parking spaces in the permit area at the station for carpoolers using Scoop, the app technology will verify that two or more people were in the car when it parked, and Scoop will coordinate with BART police to verify which vehicles belong to Scoop users.
Commuting with Scoop to Dublin/Pleasanton BART is easy: schedule your ride to 5801 Owens Drive in Pleasanton either before 9 p.m. the night before your morning commute or by midday for that evening’s commute. Scoop will notify you shortly after the deadline if you’ve matched with one of their 55,000 users. Scoop also guarantees your ride home if you are unable to be matched.
“Carpooling represents a great opportunity to better utilize existing parking spaces,” said Bob Franklin, BART’s department manager for customer access. “The Scoop app is an ideal match to facilitate carpools to and from BART stations because the carpools are easy to arrange and can be verified to ensure compliance.”
This procect was made possible through a $358,000 Mobility on Demand Sandbox grant received from the Federal Transit Administration in October 2016, which includes plans for expanding the program to more stations. The grant also helped finance enhancements to the Scoop app that allow BART commuters to find a match, pay or receive money for the carpool, and pay for BART parking through the app. Enhancements will also synchronize travel times with BART schedules, add stations as destinations within the app, and allow drivers to indicate whether their vehicles are wheelchair accessible.
