Vanderbilt Medical Center Celebrates 15 years of VanStar Vanpooling
Lisa McMahan has been riding with TMA Group’s VanStar ridesharing program for more than 15 years. She rides five days a week from Spring Hill in one of the twelve VanStar rideshare groups that transport Vanderbilt employees from throughout Middle Tennessee to Vanderbilt and VA campuses.
VanStar is a Middle Tennessee rideshare solution that connects people who work in the same area, live in the same area and share similar work schedules. Commuters from 14 Middle Tennessee counties have access to VanStar, the Middle Tennessee regional ridesharing solution.
Participants can save up to $7,000 annually on gas, parking and vehicle maintenance. All vehicles are late-model comfortable vans and minivans. Employees who live in the same area and work the same shifts at Vanderbilt and nearby businesses can form ridesharing groups through VanStar.
Lisa works at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and also serves as the rideshare coordinator for those vanpooling with VanStar.
She shares how the long-term benefits have really added up.
“I’ve saved more than 200,000 miles on my personal vehicle after 15 years of vanpooling,” she said. Lisa estimates that it equals tens of thousands of dollars in maintenance costs she never had to pay, plus thousands more in Vanderbilt parking fees she avoided.
There are perks she never expected to love quite so much.
“My favorite benefit is the great parking spot we get. I save at least 30 minutes every day just getting out of the garage at rush hour,” McMahan said with a grin.
Her other favorite?
“A chauffeur. Seriously. I get to ride in a brand-new Toyota Sienna minivan, and it is the only time in my life I have a driver,” she joked.
The program also takes the worry out of unexpected situations.
“If there’s a family emergency or something comes up and I need to get home quickly; TMA gives us six free emergency rides a year. A taxi comes to Vanderbilt and takes me straight back to my car in Spring Hill. That peace of mind means everything.”
McMahan says the camaraderie is just as valuable.
“You have days where you’re stuck in traffic or it’s raining hard, but you’d be commuting anyway. The only difference is we’re together, supporting one another.”
Wondering how to get started with VanStar? You can form a group with four or more colleagues. An online matching program is available through TMA to match employees living in a particular area with a vanpool. One employee volunteers to be the principal driver and another two are designated back-up drivers.
TMA has been at the forefront of crafting innovative transportation strategies through a collaborative effort involving business, government, community leaders and the general public. The organization takes pride in its commitment to cost-effective custom solutions that not only address transportation challenges but also contribute to environmental sustainability.
For more information on VanStar, contact VanStar by calling 615-790-4005, option 2, or visit VanStar.com.