Many Greater Des Moines residents say they would carpool to work if they knew they’d be able to get home quickly if there’s an emergency.

Within a few months, registered carpool participants will have access to the same guaranteed cab rides home that are now offered to vanpool and monthly bus pass holders, said Amanda Carstens Steward, director of the Des Moines Transportation Management Association.

“People say they want to carpool, but the biggest hurdle is that they don’t have a ride home if their child gets sick or they get sick,” Steward said The planned registration program, in which the TMA also hopes to offer carpoolers other perks such as choice parking spots, will augment an online ride-matching service that the association and the Des Moines Metropolitan Transit Authority’s Central Iowa RideShare program launched recently at www.dmmta.com/rideshare.

The TMA estimates ride sharing can save a commuter an average of $600 to $1,200 every year in commuting costs.

Individuals can calculate the cost of their commute by visiting the commuter calculator at www.avoidtherush.org, which also provides a link to the RideShare database.

Emergency rides home are among several benefits the TMA is investigating for carpoolers, along with company-provided commuter vehicles and preferred city parking for carpoolers. Other incentives will depend upon what businesses are willing to provide, she said.

“We’re looking at car washes, oil changes, car maintenance coupons, or free coffee,” Steward said. “Just little perks for getting involved. We hope to have (the carpool registration program) available by the end of the third quarter. And of course, it may be something that we launch and then add incentives as it grows.”

People can call the RideShare program at 283-RIDE (7433) to register their existing carpools for future benefits, said Michele Curry, a RideShare representative.     Meanwhile, the ride-matching program already has several hundred people in its database, and that number is growing daily, she said.     “We have approximately 600 to 650 vanpool participants in 59 vanpools, and there’s probably about 600 to 700 other people in the database to match up with,” Curry said. The database has receiving about 10 to 15 new applications each day, “so I would encourage people who have already registered to check back because there could be new options out there daily.”

The ride-match database also allows people to search for vanpooling opportunities, which have expanded since the MTA last month authorized vanpools within Polk County in addition to vanpools from outlying counties.     “Previously we did not want vanpooling to compete with our bus ridership,” Curry said, “but statistics have shown that if you’re not already riding the bus, you’re probably not going to be riding the bus.” The MTA has about six vanpool vans available for additional routes, and may be able to add more if they’re needed, she said.

“To us, it’s progression that they’ll register their carpools and that they’ll want to become vanpool participants,” Curry said.

SIDEBAR:     Getting connected   Commuters interested in the ride-matching service can log on to the Des Moines Metropolitan Transit Authority’s Central Iowa RideShare Web site at www.dmmta.com/rideshare. Users create a password-protected account by filling in home and work address information and work hours, then run a carpool or vanpool match.

The database returns a list of available partners who live and work near the commuter, and who share a similar schedule. It’s up to individuals to arrange their own carpools, though the RideShare program will assist with setting up vanpools.

Those who don’t have Internet access can call 283-RIDE (7433) to reach a RideShare associate who can take the information by telephone to enter it into the database to locate potential carpool partners.