Vanpool

Vanpool Incentives

Save on your commute
Ridesharing is a great way to reduce commuting costs. Considering today's fuel and transportation costs, ridesharing could save you significantly each month!

Click here to download the PDF for more information.

Emergency Ride Home
HART’s Emergency Ride Home offers vanpoolers a “Way Home” in the event of an emergency. If you must leave early or work late or have an unexpected emergency, HART will pay to get you home!

Click here to download the PDF for more information and to enroll.

Empty Seat Subsidy Program
HART’s Empty Seat Subsidy Program offers temporary funding to new and existing Hunterdon county-bound vanpoolers.

Eligibility Requirements

1. The vanpool must register with HART.
2. The van must be leased from a 3rd party vanpool provider and lease must be paid and current.
3. The applicant must supply proof that the van is appropriately insured under a commercial Auto Policy or a Vanpool Policy (available from VP provider).
4. The applicant must submit evidence of continuous aggressive recruiting for new passengers, i.e. employee newsletter article/classified, flyer, email alerts, other.
5. The eligible vanpool applicant must submit an Empty Seat Subsidy application for each month a subsidy is requested to HART, with an authorized signature, to attest to the number of vacant seats. If a monthly passenger list is not received, a subsidy payment will not be made.
6. Application is due 10 days after the end of the month for which subsidy is requested. Funding will not be approved for late applications.

Guidelines for Vanpool Assistance

1. Maximum funding available:
   

   Total Passenger Seats	15	12	9	7
   Seat Assistance Month #1	2	2	2	2
   Seat Assistance Month #2	1	1	1	1
   Seat Assistance Month #3	1	1	1	1

2. HART determines the amount per passenger seat. The assistance is based on the average cost per passenger seat, excluding the driver, for vanpools operating within comparable distance and market parameters, as well as eligibility criteria.
3. Financial assistance will be granted for a maximum of up to 3 months per 12 months.

Funding Restrictions

1. Empty Seat Subsidy is provided at the discretion of HART depending on the avalability of funding and/or eligibility of van.
2. Funding will not be paid to vanpools who choose not to downsize to a smaller van when available.
3. Subsidies will be paid directly to vanpool provider on behalf of vanpool. Credit will be issued to monthly lease payment.

Register for HART's Empty Seat Subsidy Program (PDF)

NJ Transit Vanpool Sponsorship Program

NJ TRANSIT makes commuting more affordable by offering financial incentives for vanpooling in areas where public transportation is neither available nor feasible. Through its partnerships with vanpool providers and local Transportation Management Associations (TMAs), the NJ TRANSIT Vanpool Sponsorship Program (VSP) will provide $175 per month to newly forming or existing vanpool groups who meet eligibility requirements. Contact HART for more information.

Commuter Calculator
Click here to calculate your monthly commute cost and how much you could save carpooling!