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Listen to the Home Work Podcast to Become a Better Telecommuter was originally published on Commuter Services of North Florida.
© Florida State University. All rights reserved.

Become a bike commuter! Find out how we can help you get started.

Here’s a Good Reason to Ride a Bike to Work was originally published on Commuter Services of North Florida.
© Florida State University. All rights reserved.

StarMetro riders save money, enjoy “me” time, and may qualify for our FREE Emergency Ride Home Program! Follow the links and get all the details today.

StarMetro Changes Take Effect January 21 was originally published on Commuter Services of North Florida.
© Florida State University. All rights reserved.

Advisory Board Meeting on December 8 was originally published on Commuter Services of North Florida.
© Florida State University. All rights reserved.

On January 6-7 the organization CyclingSavvy, a traffic cycling curriculum from Florida Bicycle Association, will be offering classes in Tallahassee. Class locations are still to be determined, but the dates are set. Individual sessions are $30. You can take the full course (three sessions) with a package discount for $75.

Below are the courses being offered.

Friday, January 6
Truth & Techniques of Traffic Cycling, 6pm – 9pm

Unitarian Universalist Church of Tallahassee
2810 Meridian Road
Tallahassee, Florida 3231

Saturday, January 7
Train Your Bike, 8am -11am
Lunch 11am – 12:30pm
Tour of Tallahassee, 12:30pm – 4pm

You can learn more about the course sessions on the CyclingSavvy website. Register online to takes one or more of these course.

CyclingSavvy is Coming to Tallahassee was originally published on Commuter Services of North Florida.
© Florida State University. All rights reserved.

ZipCar allows you to rent a car by the hour. You can carpool or take the bus to get to campus and have a very affordable ride reserved to drive to your lunch meeting or dental appointment. Check it out!

ZimRide is a place to find or offer rides to class, to the game, or home for the holidays. This is a Facebook group for FSU only and, since you use your FSU ID to log in, you get to see who’s who—and save parking hassles and gas money at the same time.

FSU reCycle is a bike rental program that will loan you a fully-equipped bicycle to use for the semester, for a ridiculously low fee. You get a helmet, light kit, security lock and a little handbook of bicycle laws—everything you need to get to class or wherever safely; plus, free workout!

Remember too, using any ‘green commute’ option at least 3 days a week means you can register for Commuter Services FREE Emergency Ride Home Program. If you get sick, stranded, or stuck in a storm, members of the ERHP get a free Yellow Cab ride home.

FSU Offering New Convenient Transportation Options was originally published on Commuter Services of North Florida.
© Florida State University. All rights reserved.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why do I have to register ahead of time? Our arrangement with Yellow Cab is that participants give the driver our voucher, which they will accept as cash and bill to us. You must have one of our vouchers in hand in order to have the bill sent to Commuter Services.
• What if I live far away? If you live or work in our service area, your voucher will cover the cost of one emergency cab ride home, regardless of the distance.
• How many vouchers do I get? One. Each voucher is good for one emergency ride home. People rarely use more than one a year and, since our participants are so responsible, we can be flexible if an individual needs to use an additional voucher from time to time. When we receive and validate the receipt (yellow copy), another voucher will be issued.
• Can I give my voucher to someone else who needs it? No; each voucher is assigned to an individual commuter registered in our system and any bill submitted under another name will be rejected for payment. What you can do is tell your friends and co-workers about the program and how they can register, too!

Be Prepared

Log into your profile on EZ Ride periodically and do a quick search for new matches. Reach out to co-workers or neighbors and introduce yourself. If you feel comfortable, ask them if you might call on them for a ride home sometime, ‘just in case’. This is also a great way to handle ‘driver out of town’ situations; many people are happy to pool occasionally or temporarily, even if they don’t care to on a regular basis.

Keep track of your voucher; look in on it once in a while and let us know if it gets lost. It’s much better to get a replacement sent out in the mail ahead of time, than discover it missing when you need it!

Be ready for seasonal weather; carry an umbrella with you. That way, you can still walk or wait for the bus in a drizzle—and save your voucher for a thunderstorm.

We appreciate that our participants are careful and responsible in their use of the program. We don’t want to discourage anyone from using their voucher—that’s what it’s there for! We simply want to be clear on what the guidelines are so that we can offer the benefits of a quick, safe ride home to every qualified commuter who needs one.

If there’s ever a question of your health or safety, go ahead and use your voucher! Any clarifications can be sorted out after the fact.

If you have other questions, give us a call toll-free at 1-888-454-RIDE(7433).

Emergency Ride Home Program — How does it work? was originally published on Commuter Services of North Florida.
© Florida State University. All rights reserved.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How many vouchers do I get? One. Each voucher is good for one emergency ride home. People rarely use more than one a year and, since our participants are so responsible, we can be flexible if an individual needs to use an additional voucher from time to time. If you find your transportation arrangement isn’t really working for you, let us know right away; we’re happy to help you find a more reliable way to travel so you won’t need to worry about too-frequent ‘emergencies’.
• Can I use my voucher to get TO work? Sorry, no. In order to keep costs reasonable, we have to limit use to work-to-home trips only (you may stop at school to pick up a sick child on the way). If you have any questions about what qualifies, please call Commuter Services at 1-888-454-RIDE(7433). Using your voucher to get to work, home from parties or other inappropriate trips will result in your bill being returned to you for payment.
• How about a doctor’s appointment? An appointment would be a scheduled disruption; if you know your usual ride isn’t going to suit you on a particular day, make a back-up arrangement ahead of time. Of course, if the situation is unexpected (you receive word that you need to meet your spouse or child at the hospital), you may use your voucher to get you there from work—and then make your own arrangements for getting home.
• What do I do when my carpool partner goes on vacation? As soon as you know, log into your EZ Ride profile and do a quick search for new matches. Reach out to those co-workers or neighbors and introduce yourself. If you feel comfortable, ask about sharing a ride for a few days; many people are happy to pool occasionally or temporarily, even if they don’t care to on a regular basis.
• What if my ride is keeping me waiting? Please try to be flexible. Honestly, pooling does sometimes involve minor inconveniences. It’s helpful if you keep a snack and a book with you for the occasional delay. If mis-matching schedules become a problem, speak up! And you may want to visit your EZ Ride profile to see if someone new is a better match.
• Is bad weather or darkness a valid reason? If a friend or roommate can pick you up and you have a safe place to wait—great. If you can’t reach anyone or you are anxious about your location or severe weather, by all means, use your voucher.
• What if my shift doesn’t end until after the buses quit running for the day? If your regular schedule means you have to make a mad dash for the last bus home, you may want to consider a carpool or vanpool instead. Set up a FREE online profile in EZRide and see if you have matches. Ask around at work, too–everyone is trying to hang on to their hard-earned cash and some of your co-workers might welcome a rider who’ll chip in for gas. If transit normally fits your schedule well and you simply get held up one night and miss the last bus, that’s an appropriate time to use your voucher.

Emergency Ride Home Program — When can I use it? was originally published on Commuter Services of North Florida.
© Florida State University. All rights reserved.

reCycle program creator and FSU student Sandy Simmons provided an overview of the program, and then FSU Kicker Dustin Hopkins and Punter Shawn Powell participated in the shoot. The two Seminoles football players then took the opportunity to ride two of the bikes across campus, all while being filmed by ESPN. The story should appear during ESPN’s day-long telecast from Tallahassee on Saturday.

ESPN to Feature reCycle Bike Rental Program was originally published on Commuter Services of North Florida.
© Florida State University. All rights reserved.

Carpool Cost Splitter lets you input the vehicle MPG, the current gas price, the total miles traveled, and the number of people in your pool to easily calculate what each person owes.

You can download Carpool Cost Splitter for $0.99 from the Apple iOS App Store.

Dividing Carpool Gas Expenses? There’s an App for that! was originally published on Commuter Services of North Florida.
© Florida State University. All rights reserved.