The Future of Ridesharing in the Pioneer Valley

Hey PV families, come to the RideBuzz Organizational Meeting and Community Forum Thursday, April 3, 7:00 pm at the Jones Library, 43 Amity Street in Amherst to learn about the RideBuzz Forum, co-sponsored by River Valley Market Co-Op.

This event is a great opportunity to learn about a community ridesharing pilot program and contribute to its vitality. There are roughly 1.4 million empty car seats jostling around the streets of the Pioneer Valley generating 17 million pounds of carbon emissions annually. We will discuss strategies to help our community share its empty seating to meet diverse community needs.

This program will help under-served populations, improve transportation access, and calm traffic. Ridesharing (aka carpooling) is a socially cooperative way to travel that drastically reduces fuel consumption and carbon emissions. This event is a great opportunity to channel your passion in ways that will help the community build a cohesive rideshare program that provides effective, low-cost, and flexible transportation alternatives. Help us build an innovative ride sharing program for the Pioneer Valley.

Join community organizations and civic leaders to support an important pilot program that will revolutionize carpooling! Please carpool to the event. Check out the pilot program at www.ridebuzz.org. For more information, contact Jeff at 978-394-3740 (cell) or email: Jeff@RideBuzz.org.

Special treats and healthy snacks will be provided by Flayvors of Cook Farm.

Tentative agenda and more event details here:
http://www.ridebuzz.org/Publications/OutreachMeetingPlan.html

Follow-up Meeting

RideBuzz will hold a follow-up meeting on Monday, April 14, 2008, from 7:30 to 9 p.m., at the Media Education Foundation (MEF) community room, 60 Masonic Street, Northampton, MA

Event Co-sponsors

• The Hitchcock Center for the Environment (www.hitchcockcenter.org)
• Center for Ecological Technology (CET – www.cetonline.org)
• Co-op Power (www.cooppower.coop)
• Pioneer Valley Local First (PVBALLE – www.pvballe.org)
• Franklin County Community Development Corporation (FCCDC – www.fccdc.org)
• Town of Amherst Energy Conservation Task Force (link)
• Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC – www.pvpc.org)
• Western Mass Permaculture Guild
• River Valley Market Co-op (www.rivervalleymarket.coop)
• Amherst Public Transportation Committee
• RunAbout Cycles, Inc. (www.electric-cycle.com)
• Northampton Transportation and Parking Commission (www.northamptonma.gov/tpc/)
• Highland Valley Elder Services (www.highlandvalley.org)
• Flayvors of Cook Farm (http://www.cookfarm.com/Flayvors.htm)
• New Leaf of Hampshire College (link)
• Pioneer Valley Relocalization Project (Mass. Coalition for Healthy Communities) (link)
• Collective Copies (www.collectivecopies.com)
• MassBike/Pioneer Valley (www.massbike.org/mbpv)