Car Pools Help Workers Save In Tough Economy

In Anne Arundel County, about 700 commuters are part of an online database that helps them find car pool partners.

And as tough times have many searching for creative ways to penny pinch, more people are looking into the database and car pooling in general.

Take Leslie Delabar. She manages to save money on gas by making two extra stops during her morning commute.

The Kent Island resident's first stop is to her day care provider, which is where she drops off her baby by 7 a.m. About 20 minutes later, she arrives in Annapolis to meet up with her car pool partner, Cindy Dooley. Their shared ride to jobs at the University of Maryland in College Park enables them to use the HOV lanes on Route 50 and cut down on gas and car maintenance. They drive together four days a week, saving about $500 a month combined.

They are among the roughly 12 percent of Maryland motorists who travel to work via car pool, a trend experts say is increasing because of high gas prices.

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