Pooling together : why the vanpool works in the US and the Netherlands

A vanpool is a group of 7-15 people who commute together on a regular basis in what is called in the USA a van – but what we would call a minibus. The vanpool concept is predicated on the voluntary driver, and expenses are shared among the group. Largely as a result, vanpools are widely regarded in the USA as being the most cost-effective transportation demand management measures for employers to support. Currently there are more than 10,000 vanpools in the USA, which are operated by private operators, employers and public agencies. In addition, vanpools are beginning to be developed in the Netherlands. However, as yet they are almost unknown in the UK. The purpose of this article is to identify why this is the case by looking at vanpools in the United States and the Netherlands.