SchoolPool is Back in Session

Vacation is definitely over in the Alamo City.  As students find themselves back behind a desk for hours a day, parents and commuters are finding themselves back in what seems like hours of extra traffic. 

 

Each year when school goes back into session, many parents find that they now have two commutes:  the first driving their child to school and the second driving themselves to work.  It’s stressful for the parents, for other commuters sharing the road, and for the environment.

 

Simply put, the additional traffic couldn’t come at a worse time.  As the dog days of summer roll on in late August and September, summer heat combines with extra pollution emitted by the vehicles sitting in traffic to make ground-level ozone, an invisible but very harmful air pollutant.  Exposure to ground-level ozone causes symptoms ranging from headaches and nausea to shortness of breath long-term lung damage.  The effects of ground-level ozone are most profound on active children and those already suffering from lung diseases such as asthma.

 

Fortunately, the Alamo Area Council of Governments is able to announce it’s 2005-2006 SchoolPool program, which will help relieve parents and commuters, and help safeguard students.

 

SchoolPool matches parents who drive their children to school and are interested in sharing rides. By using SchoolPool, parents will realize huge commute savings, not to mention the saving extra time by avoiding the morning home to school commute.   

 

When parents agree to SchoolPool, they not only help to reduce air pollution, they also reduce the number of cars driving in and around school parking lots.  Fewer cars in the parking lot means reduced risk of an accident involving a student on foot and a hurrying parent in a car.  Fewer cars on the road means less ground-level ozone pollution and less long-term damage to children’s lungs.

 

AACOG staff will present SchoolPool to students, staff, and parents, provide all necessary materials, and process all SchoolPool match request forms--which means no extra work for school staff.  Also as a part of the program, AACOG will track the pollution saved by each school’s SchoolPool program and present each school with an environmental stewardship award each year for parents’ and students’ efforts to improve regional air quality.  All SchoolPool services are provided free of charge.

 

More information on the SchoolPool and carpool programs offered by Commute Solutions is available at our website, www.aacog.com/commutesolutions.  If you’d like to request a SchoolPool program for your school or your child’s school, please fill out our online form.