Press Releases

For Immediate Release

511 Rideshare Starts Speaking Spanish

Contact:

Susan Gluss, 511 Rideshare, 510.273.3650
Ivonne Montes de Oca, The Pinnacle Company, 408.228.8497
Tom York, York Public Relations, 415.828.1342

Oakland, Calif., Jan. 18, 2006 – The 511 Regional Rideshare Program is expanding into the Bay Area’s burgeoning Spanish-language market for the first time. Now, Spanish speakers throughout the Bay Area will be able to get detailed information — online at www.511.org (click rideshare) or on the phone at 511 —about sharing a ride to and from work, including the many financial benefits of carpooling and vanpooling. The Spanish service, like all the travel information on the Bay Area’s popular 511 phone and Web system, is free of charge.

“We’re reaching out to give Spanish speakers better access to a valuable community service and a great way to save money,” said Tad Widby, Project Manager for 511 Rideshare. “Now thousands more Bay Area commuters can get help coping with the high cost of gasoline by joining a carpool or vanpool.”

Widby and other local officials spoke today at a press event at the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce to announce the new Spanish-language pages on the 511.org Web site. “The Bay Area’s Hispanic and Latino populations together comprise one of our largest and fastest growing ethnic groups — a fact that makes publishing vanpool and carpool information in Spanish all the more important,” said Widby.

“This truly is a celebration of the Bay Area’s diverse work force,” said President and CEO of the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce Pat Dando. “We believe that each and every commuter benefits from a full range of transportation options during the work week. It’s good for business — and good for the community.”

Catalina Alvarado, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), which sponsors the 511 traveler information service, said expanding the rideshare portion of the 511 Web site to include Spanish is just the beginning. “Over time, we plan to add other languages to the 511 Rideshare Web site, depending upon need. We want to help all Bay Area residents learn about the best commute alternatives.”

511 Rideshare already offers telephone interpretation service in 150 languages, including Cantonese, Japanese, Mandarin, Tagalog and Vietnamese. To obtain vanpool or carpool information in one of these languages, dial 511 and continue to say “rideshare.” When an operator answers, say the name of your language in English, and stay on the line while an interpreter is called.

Of the nine Bay Area counties, Santa Clara County has one of the higher percentages of Hispanic and Latino residents. Several business associations in the county that endorse the 511 Rideshare Spanish-language program include the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Silicon Valley, and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

511 Rideshare is a free service — funded by MTC, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Bay Area’s nine county congestion management agencies — that helps commuters find others to carpool or vanpool together to work. Qualifying carpools can cross Bay Area toll bridges free of charge during commute hours, and those new to ridesharing may qualify for financial incentives or subsidies. For more information about commute alternatives, visit www.511.org and click the rideshare button.

MTC is the transportation planning, coordinating and financing agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay region.

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