Way to Go, a program of the Denver Regional Council of Governments, is encouraging people to use it’s vanpool commuting option this summer during the height of ozone action month.

Vanpool, is a program that allows individuals in the Denver metro area to carpool to work with their colleagues or individuals that work nearby to them.

The program provides the vehicle, insurance, fuel and maintenance to commute by van to work and home, according to the programs website.

Participants in the program select drivers and share the monthly fare equally between vanpool members.

According to Nisha Mokshagundam, the Way to Go manager, DRCOG offers a subsidy to people who are van pooling within the Regional Transportation District service region.

“That’s why we tell people that if they use Vanpool, they can actually earn money, because there are some costs associated with band pool that they can then use the subsidy to cover,” she said.

Employers who help promote or subsidize vanpools for their respective workplaces can also earn up to $125,000 in tax credits and enhance their benefits packages, according to DRCOG.

Mokshagundam said the over a decade long program has started to see its numbers rise to pre-pandemic levels again.

Starting at the beginning of the year, Vanpool became available for those who have hybrid work schedules, with in person and work remote days. Now, individuals can customize the service in a more accessible way.

“We really want people to, you know, help reduce the air pollution and traffic congestion, just in order to help with the summer months and the ozone action months,” said Mokshagundam.

For every one Vanpool van, Mokshagundam says at least seven individual cars are taken off the road.

“The number one benefit is convenience, but it also, you know, kind of leads to some team building to be able to spend that social time with your colleagues,” she said.

Employers and individuals interested in setting up their own Vanpool can go to the DRCOG website to check their eligibility.