The 4 Problems We Are Solving with Vancouver International Airport (YVR) on the Sea Island
Driving is fun. But driving to work every day, notably from across town and by yourself in traffic, can be quite difficult on the soul, the mind, and of course, the wallet. For the Sea Island's 23,000+ employees, the long solo commute presents a variety of problems and pain points. Luckily for them, YVR has recently partnered with go2gether to help mass organize various Sea Island employees into fun and efficient carpools.
Earlier this week, Airport Authority and go2gether members spent the morning out in front of the Templeton Skytrain parking lot (just outside YVR) to meet and chat with hundreds of commuters on how go2gether works. We even brought free coffee and hot chocolate!
In addition to people learning about go2gether, we learned about their four biggest commuting issues, and addressed it with the solution we provide.
Problem #1 - The Cost of Driving
Abbotsford, Delta, Port Moody, Surrey – we met people driving from all areas of the lower mainland. And what was their biggest pain point with driving solo to YVR every day? The cost of gasoline. Even these days, when the cost of gas is lower than it has been in a decade, the average cost for round-trip in a day from Surrey to YVR runs a walloping $36. See below to find out how much you pay to drive to the Airport from where you live.
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Solution: If you carpool just three days per week, you can save $216 - enough to pay your car insurance! If you carpool everyday, you can save $360 every month! This is our primary objective on the Sea Island; help employees save their hard earned money.
Problem #2 - The Lack of Community
Standing out there and explaining the benefits of carpooling, a lot of employees told us they would love to carpool, but just didn’t know anyone to do it with. Technicians, retail staff, Canada Post employees; they all have friends at work, but unfortunately those pals live in the opposite direction!
Solution: go2gether is a service made specifically for this purpose – to connect people with others on the way. Even for this day, our team members, Luc and Docky discovered each other on the go2gether platform, learning that they are only five minutes away from each other!
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Problem #3 - The Odd Schedules
YVR is a 24/7/365 environment. It is an Airport, after all. There are folks working 8 and 12-hour shifts (some with unexpected overtime), and flight attendants leaving for weeklong trips. A big roadblock to carpooling, many told us, was the diversity of the employee shifts. How could someone book a round trip carpool if the driver is flying to Tokyo in the afternoon?
Solution: We offer flexibility. With enough users on the go2gether YVR network, any employee will be able to book a trip to and from work that is convenient for their hours. If someone works into unexpected overtime, users can be matched with another trip that fits their schedule in real time.
Problem #4 - The Long, Hard Road
The only thing worse than sitting in traffic is sitting in traffic by yourself, every day, for what seems like the whole day. Quite a few employees told us that traffic is a nightmare for them, and they would much prefer some company or even the opportunity to relax and close their eyes on the way into work.
Solution: More carpools mean fewer cars on the road and much happier people driving them. In YVR’s case, happier and well-rested employees already connected arriving to work.
