In May of 2003 I began my job at GreenPoint Bank, in Lake Success.
However, I live in Ridge (eastern Long Island), which is about 54 miles each way -- and it was taking two hours each way with all the traffic.

To try and help alleviate my commute, I contacted LITM to try and obtain a rideshare match. In August of 2003, I found someone on the list who lives in Selden and works in New Hyde Park, just around the corner. I called him to have lunch and talk about the possibility of carpooling. We hit it off very well during the lunch, and we decided to try it.

So, for the past year we've been meeting by 7:30 AM at the Park & Ride at Exit 63, and we make it in to work by about 8:20 AM, shaving 20 – 30 minutes off the overall commute each way. We both enjoy sharing the driving (we alternate days), saving the wear-and-tear on our cars, and saving gas money, especially since the cost of gas has risen so sharply. We also have a lot of laughs, which makes the commute seem to go that much faster.

Of course, we've had to be very flexible for each other, too -- there have been days when one or the other of us might have had to leave early, and so we dealt with this as it happened. But it was a rare instance. The whole thing just works out very, very well, and we have LITM to thank for it.

I'm one extremely happy "customer" and a perfect example of how well ridesharing works!

Anita
GreenPoint Bank
Lake Success

There are many benefits to carpooling:

• It’s economical
• There’s less wear and tear on our cars
  
• We can leave home later
  
• We can use the HOV lane.  (We can wave at the people stuck in traffic
  while we breeze along!)
  
• There is definitely safety in numbers
  
• We get a break from driving
  
• The ride seems shorter
  

Kathleen and Mary
MDNY Healthcare, Melville

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