Carpooling

• A carpool is defined as two (2) or more employees and/or off-campus students commuting together at UMass Lowell. Permit holders are assigned one carpool permit to use among themselves. Note: On-campus residential students are not eligible for carpool permits.
• The price of the carpool permit is ½ the permit price for each participant at each participant’s regular rate. Both permit holders must pay for their ½ of the permit. If there are more than 2 persons in a carpool, the price is lowered proportionally.
• A carpool permit will be valid in all lots typically assigned to the driver, in addition to the preferred carpool spaces in those lots. In the event that the group consists of a student and faculty/staff member, the permit will be valid in lots for which the member that has the highest level of access. For example, if member #1 is permitted to park in commuter parking lots and member #2 is permitted to park in staff parking, the permit will be valid in both lots. A list of carpool spaces and standard parking locations can be found at www.uml.edu/ParkingLocations.
• The preferred parking spaces will be marked “Reserved Carpool Permit” and are limited to vehicles displaying the appropriate carpool hangtag. If all carpool parking spaces are full you are eligible to park in any legal space within that parking lot.
• Applicants must pledge to commute to campus together most of the time. Additionally, carpool members must live in areas that would facilitate reasonable and expected commute pattern that is consistent with the intent of the carpool permit program.
• Applicants will be assigned a limited number of one-day commuter permits (16 days per semester) at no charge to accommodate their occasional need to drive alone.
• On days the carpool is not ridesharing, the car without the hangtag must obtain a 1-day parking pass by visiting the UMass Lowell MyParking website, logging in with your e-mail credentials, and ordering a pass. The temporary pass must be displayed on your dashboard.

Once you have your group of two or more gathered, simply download and complete the Carpool Application (pdf). This form must be delivered to the UCard, Access and Parking Services (UCAPS) office located in University Crossing, 220 Pawtucket St., Lowell along with full payment, and each person must be present with a photo ID for verification.

The carpool group will receive a single hang tag that has card access built into it. The hang tag must be prominently displayed whenever parking on campus, and used on the gate readers to raise them. Be careful not to lose the tag, as there is a $20 replacement and any tag reported lost will be flagged by Parking Enforcement for possible citation if found displayed.

• Ridematching helps members find carpool, vanpool, bike and/or transit partners. Joining eCommuter provides members with an easy way to match to and find other commuters who live and work nearby that also want to share a ride to work. Members can also look for available vanpool groups, bike buddies, and transit options. Members will immediately see if they match with other potential carpool or vanpool partners. The ridematching tool is flexible and helps design a commute that best meets your needs while keeping your personal information confidential.
• Commute Calendar is where members can record their daily commutes and learn about their travel habits while tracking specific savings on metrics like vehicle emissions, calories burned and fuel costs.
• Commute Savings Calculator helps members determine the cost of driving to work alone to compare how much you can save when you share your ride to work. Members calculate the costs of different transportation modes based on their personal commute details and the calculator shows how sharing a ride to work can lead to cost savings.
• Emergency Ride Home (ERH) is a member-provided program that guarantees transportation to any qualified destination at no cost to the commuter. Administered and managed through eCommuter registration, the ERH program gives commuters the peace of mind when making the switch from driving alone. ERH is available to registered member commuters that travel to work at least two days per week in any shared ride or sustainable mode (including carpools, vanpools, public transit, shuttles, biking or walking). This program guarantees green commuters emergency transportation home (or to any other qualified destination) via Lyft™, taxi or rental car at no cost to the commuter. In order to utilize the Emergency Ride Home service, eCommuter members must register by visiting the Emergency ride home section of the eCommuter website and filling out the ERH registration form.

To become an eCommuter and to gain access to unique tools to upgrade your commute, members of UMass Lowell can visit the eCommuter website to fill out the registration forms. While filling out the form, in the "Member Name or Address" field, type in your workplace (UMass Lowell) and select from the results list. Once you submit the form, check your email inbox for a link to set up your password and begin exploring green commuting options.