Transportation Programs
- Bike to Work
- Electric Bike Information
- Folding Bikes in Busses
- Cabrillo College Go Green
- Local Sustainable Transportation Options
- RideSurance
- Safe Routes to School
- Transportation Membership Services
RideSurance FAQ
Detailed below are some of the more frequently asked questions (FAQ’s) about RideSurance:
1. What is the cost of this service?
2. I’ve never used a program like this – how does it work?
3. Who is eligible to join “RideSurance”?
4. What kinds of emergencies are eligible for a free ride home?
5. Is there anything excluded I should be aware of?
6. How do I get a free emergency ride home when I need one?
7. What other options are available besides a taxi?
The annual cost of membership for participation in this program is only $24.00. It should be noted that this low fee is only possible due to subsidies for the program from various state and local funding sources.
Sign up now and receive a FREE commuter gift!
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- Fill out the registration form and pay online.
Participants may also pay in person at the Ecology Action office, or by mail: Ecology Action, 223 River Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
- Upon receipt of your application, Ecology Action will send two vouchers for your use only (vouchers are not transferable). Additional vouchers can be obtained by request.
- At the time commuters sign up for RideSurance, Ecology Action staff will evaluate where the participant lives and works, and assign the most appropriate transportation provider based on the distance involved. In the event of an emergency, the participant calls the assigned transportation provider directly, informs the dispatcher that he/she has a RideSurance Emergency Ride Home voucher and orders the ride.
- In Santa Cruz County, the taxi arrives within 15 minutes and provides the participant with a free ride home. (Note: the wait could be slightly longer for outlying areas of the county).
For inter-county trips that require a rental car (e.g. San Jose to Santa Cruz), the commuter will call Enterprise Rent-a-Car. Enterprise staff will go the commuter’s place of business, pick them up, drive back to the Enterprise office to drop off the Enterprise driver and obtain the rental car. - The commuter fills out and signs the voucher, keeps the yellow copy, and gives the white copy to the cab driver or rental car company.
- Cab companies or Enterprise Rent-a-Car will send monthly invoices to Ecology Action. All rides will be reviewed for eligibility. Once approved Ecology Action will pay for services rendered plus gratuity.
- Ecology Action has the right to verify the trip purpose of any ride taken under this program. Abuse of the program may result in disciplinary action and/or expulsion from this program or other programs offered by Ecology Action. Participants are responsible for reimbursing Ecology Action for any ineligible rides taken under the auspices of this program.
- Ecology Action will send evaluation surveys to RideSurance participants. The evaluation asks questions about the RideSurance emergency ride home experience and serves as a foundation for program improvement.
This program is available to commuters who live or work in Santa Cruz County that are regular carpoolers, vanpoolers, bus riders, bicyclists, and walkers. For the purposes of this program, a regular commuter is defined as anyone that uses an alternate commute mode at least one day per week (including commuters who use a combination of these methods).
If you work outside of Santa Cruz County, you can call a taxi cab service in that county, rent a car, or take transit where available. However, the rental car and transit options are often times much less expensive than cabs for long trips, and will most likely extend your RideSurance coverage.
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Valid Reasons for Using the Service
- Illness of commuter or family members.
- Crisis of commuter or family member.
- Unexpected request of a supervisor to work past regular work hours. (Unexpected is defined as not knowing before the start of your shift.)
- Commuters stranded at work because the driver of carpool had to leave. If the carpool driver has an emergency during the day, or has to work late, all stranded riders will be able to take the ride home at the end of the day. Vanpool riders are eligible if the driver or alternate drivers are not available.
- Drivers of carpools or vanpools are also eligible for this program in the event of a valid emergency situation.
- This program is not designed for an individual’s personal use, such as errands, pre-planned medical appointments, business-related travel, working late without a supervisor’s request, or a carpool/vanpool vehicle breakdown.
- Transportation to a doctor or hospital resulting from an on-the-job injury is not covered by this program. Most employers have separate procedures for worker’s compensation incidents.
- In the event of a major disaster, this service would not be available. A mass evacuation of all program participants could not be accommodated. It is suggested that all commuters make advance transportation arrangements that would apply in the event of a major, area-wide disaster.
- There is an annual cap on the number of times this service can be utilized: up to 4 trips per year, or $100.00 – whichever is met first.
- If a cab is called, and the RideShare commuter is not at the appointed location when the driver arrives, it will be considered a “no-show.” Members will be expected to reimburse Ecology Action for any no-shows, and no-shows may result in expulsion from the program at Ecology Action’s discretion.
For all emergency trips within Santa Cruz County, special arrangements have been made with Yellow Cab Co. (Santa Cruz Transportation, Inc.) to provide rides for Ecology Action’s RideSurance Program. The terms of these arrangements are as follows:
- 24 hour taxi service
- Taxi arrives within 15 minutes of call
(within 30 minutes to Davenport or Watsonville and 45 minutes to Bonny Doon). - Taxi will transport the participant to any home location. Commuters needing an emergency ride may also use this program to transport themselves to the location of the emergency, if it is other than their home. For example, the commuter may need to respond to an emergency at a hospital or school. A cab may be asked to wait for up to 15 minutes at the initial destination.
“Transit First” Policy: If the need for a trip home or to the hospital is life threatening, or a dire emergency, by all means, participants should take the quickest trip option home possible. However, for many trip purposes – such as working late when time isn’t critical – participants should make every effort to utilize public transit whenever possible. For example, taking Metro’s “Highway 17 Express” from Santa Cruz to San Jose at $4.00 per one way trip is much more cost effective than taking a single occupant cab to San Jose. Many other creative options, and combinations of options, are available that many commuters are unaware of.
EA staff can help program participants select the emergency ride home that is most appropriate for their situation. The important thing to remember is that by pursuing the lowest cost option for their emergency ride home, commuters will be eligible for more trips in any given year.
Rental Cars: For longer emergency rides home (e.g. inter-county trips), another more cost effective option is the use of rental cars. Please bear in mind this is not an option for shorter trips within Santa Cruz County. Please contact RideSurance Program staff for more details.
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RideSurance Partners
Ecology Action would like to thank our partners and funding sources for making this program possible: Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District, and the Pajaro Valley Transportation Management Association.
Program Contact
Piet Canin
Vice President, Transportation Group
Phone: 831-515-1327
Email
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