Carpool

Carpool Support

The TravelSmart program supports existing carpool groups and helps people who are trying to identify carpool partners to set up a new carpool group.

If you currently carpool or have already identified your carpool partner(s)…

We encourage you and your carpool partner(s) to read the details below and decide as a group if you collectively want to cancel your parking permits to obtain a free carpool pass OR if you want to keep your current parking permits. Once this decision is made, you and your carpool partner(s) can register for the TravelSmart program.

Perks of TravelSmart Carpooling

As a registered carpool group with the TravelSmart program, you have the following available to you:

• Access to a free ride home (or to a hospital or a dependent’s school/daycare) when unforeseen emergencies occur on the days that your group carpools. Check out the Emergency Ride Home support program for additional details and guidelines.

• Option to obtain a free, shared carpool pass if your group cancels all of your parking permits – OR – your carpool group can keep your parking permits and continue paying the monthly fee (see Details & Decision Point below for more information).

• If your carpool group decides to cancel your current parking permits in order to obtain a free carpool pass, you are also granted the following:
  • Opportunity to use daily rate flexible parking ($3 per day) in marked sections of lots #17, #55, #57, #62, #63, and #66, and on the bottom level of lot 50, and on the top level of lot 6, on the days that you and your carpool partner(s) drive separately. View the Daily Rate Flexible Parking Map to see the locations of the daily rate flex parking lots.
  • 3-month grace period in which you and your carpool partner(s) can request your parking permits back for your original lots (see Details & Decision Point below for more info).

Details & Decision Point: Free Carpool Pass vs. Keeping Parking Permits

As part of the registration process to be a carpooler with the TravelSmart program, you have the following two options available to you:

Option 1: Cancel All Individual Parking Permits in order to Obtain a Free, Shared Carpool Pass

• You and your carpool partner(s) can obtain a free carpool pass, if ALL MEMBERS of the carpool group CANCEL their current parking permits and RETURN them to Parking Services located in the UNMC Bookstore within the Student Life Center. All parking permits must be returned IN PERSON to Parking Services at the SAME TIME. Once all of the parking permits are returned, one shared portable carpool pass will be issued to the group and payroll deduction for the regular employee parking fees will be stopped. All students will receive a prorated reimbursement of any fees paid.

• Each carpooler in the group will have his or her original parking assignment available within 3 months from the date of TravelSmart registration (i.e., a risk-free trial period). If a carpool member wants his or her parking permit back within this 3-month grace period, a permit will be reissued for his or her original lot. If a carpooler requests his or her parking permit back after 3 months, parking will be reassigned based on where space is available, which could include the original lot assignment. Please note that if all members collectively decide to stop the carpool group, they need to return the carpool pass to Parking Services before parking permits can be reissued.

• The shared carpool pass will be issued for the parking lot that is currently assigned to the FIRST person in the carpool group to register for the TravelSmart program. Parking lot assignment changes can be made, but will be based on space availability.

• Everyone in the carpool group has access to Emergency Ride Home on the days that you carpool.

• As a registered TravelSmart participant, you and your carpool partner(s) have the opportunity to use daily rate flexible parking on the days that you need to drive separately to campus. The cost is $3.00 for the day. Payment is made when you arrive at the lot via a smartphone app or a cell phone that supports web browsers (or via a computer with access to the internet when you arrive at your workplace). Click here to learn more about daily rate flexible parking and view a map of the specific lots.

If you are still uncertain about which option is best for your carpool group, please click on the TravelSmart Options Calculator, which can help you identify the option that makes the most sense financially. You can also contact 402.559.8580 (ext 3) or travelsmart@unmc.edu for assistance.

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Frequently Asked Questions about TravelSmart carpooling and other program details.

Return to the TravelSmart Homepage.