Van Pools Blog

Posts Tagged ‘chicago’

Good Read: Wall Street Journal’s American Idle

February 3rd, 2011 0 Comments
Chicago commuters spend about 70 hours in traffic each year, according to a new report

Chicago commuters spend about 70 hours in traffic each year, according to a new report

For many of us, yesterday’s article in the Wall Street Journal entitled, “American Idle: On the Road”, stated the painfully obvious: traffic congestion causes the average commuter to spend about 34 hours a year stuck in traffic jams and, as the economy recovers, the problem is getting worse. Joseph White’s story shared data from the Texas Transportation Institute’s latest Urban Mobility Report and bestowed the dubious distinction of having the nation’s worst traffic congestion upon Washington, DC and Chicago.

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The “Almost [Vanpooling] Delivery”

September 24th, 2009 0 Comments

The following post was written by vanpooler Mary Sherer from Peachtree City, Georgia. It was originally submitted to our iPhone contest, but it was so enjoyable that we had to share it with our readers.

I have been vanpooling for many years.  First in Chicago and now in Atlanta. Back when I was pregnant with my first child, I had an hour commute and my hospital was close to our home. I worked up until the day before I had my baby. We often joked that we would need to have a “code word” in case I went into labor and the vanpool needed to get me home.

For some reason they felt that was a better deal than calling for the ride home. So, of course, I started having contractions while at work…my vanpool announced it over the loudspeaker in the Regional Office. Everyone made it to the van in five minutes or less…shuffled me into the van, avoided all the pot holes, did lamaze breathing with me and promptly delivered me to my hospital. My baby was not born that night, but they decided that it was best if I stayed closer to home to work!! I did have a very healthy little girl the next week. The vanpool riders, who all are still very good friends of mine, came to the hospital and visited their “almost delivery.”