Carpool & Rideshare
Carpooling is an environmentally friendly way for Georgia Tech students, faculty, and staff to commute to campus and also to share the cost a campus parking permit. The carpool permit costs $100 less than the Annual Individual Permit and can be split among carpool members.
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Rules & Regulations
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Carpool Information
Carpool Eligibility
Carpools must meet the following criteria:
- Each member of the carpool must be a Georgia Tech student, faculty or staff member with a current GTID.
- Each member of the carpool must live outside the campus borders. Members may not live within a 1/4 mile of campus. Individuals living in campus residence halls or student-oriented housing adjacent to campus are not eligible for carpools. Please use the boundary map to help determine if you are eligible to qualify for a carpool permit.
- Each member must have a current local address updated in BuzzPort (students) or Techworks (faculty/staff).
- Each member’s address must be relatively situated such that a reasonable route can be taken to/from campus. For example, carpools in which one member lives in Alpharetta (north of Atlanta) and another member lives in Peachtree City (south of Atlanta) will not be approved.
Applying for a Carpool Permit
A carpool consists of two types of participants:
- Leaders are responsible for creating a carpool application, inviting members to the carpool, submitting the carpool application for approval, full payment of the carpool permit, and financial responsibility for any citations issued to the carpool. Leaders can only create one carpool, and cannot join any other carpools.
- Members accept email invitations from leaders to join a carpool. Upon acceptance of an invitation to join a carpool, any other carpool invitations shall become invalid. An application cannot be approved until all invited members have accepted their invitation to join.
1. Create a Carpool Application
2. Invite Carpool Members
3. Application Approval and Payment
- Once the invited members have accepted their carpool invitations, the Parking and Transportation office will review and approve the application, or flag any issues.
- When the carpool is approved the system will email the leader that the carpool is ready for payment. The leader must click on the emailed link to return to the application page and proceed to payment.
- The permit is in the shopping cart awaiting checkout. Faculty/staff leader and members choose their payment option. Students’ charge is sent to bursars office.
- Upon payment, receipt will be sent via email.
4. Receive Permit
Applications will not be approved unless the following requirements are met:
- There must be at least two carpool members (the leader and at least one member who has accepted an invitation).
- Neither leaders nor members may have another parking permit or be part of another carpool.
- All members must live at least ¼ mile from campus.
- Leaders and members must pay all outstanding citations.
- At least one vehicle must be registered with PTS at My Parking Account.
Other Carpool Options
Georgia Commute Options
Georgia Tech students and employees can find carpool partners and see incentives through the Georgia Commute Options website or GA Commute app (iOS or Android). This service offers the ability to choose potential carpool partners within the GT community. Georgia Commute Options also provides additional commuter support, such as Guaranteed Ride Home and Route Matching.
Zipcar
For students or employees that wish to borrow a vehicle for brief periods, Zipcars are available at several locations on campus. Zipcar is a membership-based car sharing company that provides members access to a variety of new fuel-efficient vehicles. Georgia Tech’s collaboration with Zipcar provides convenient pickup locations and discounts for students, faculty, and staff.
FAQs
What is the purpose of the GT carpool program?
The carpool program is designed to accomplish three things:
- Reduce the total “vehicle miles traveled” by the Georgia Tech community.
- Assist in reducing the total tailpipe emissions to help improve Atlanta’s air quality.
- Assist in reducing traffic congestion throughout metro Atlanta.
Who is eligible for a carpool permit?
All carpool participants must be Georgia Tech faculty, staff or students who do not reside on the Georgia Tech campus and do not live within a 1/4 mile buffer of Georgia Tech’s campus. Persons living in student housing adjacent to the GT campus are not eligible for carpool.
How much will a carpool permit cost?
Carpool permits are $100 less than the Annual Individual Permit and are prorated throughout the year.
Where can I park with a carpool permit?
The carpool permit allows access to one parking location (selected during the application process) for everyday use.
- Carpool permit holders may park in nonresidential and gated areas from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. Monday through Thursday (carpool permits can be used to access gated areas after hours).
- Permits may also be used from 5:00 p.m. Friday to 8:00 a.m. Monday for weekend access.
- After-hours access for E45 and E81 is granted from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. on weekdays.
- The E40 parking lot at Turner Place is unavailable to non-E40 permit customers after hours.
Will all carpool members receive a permit?
One permit hangtag for the carpool will be issued to the carpool leader. This hanging permit must be appropriately displayed while carpool vehicles are parked on the Georgia Tech campus. Individual BuzzCards will not be activated to allow access to gated lots.
How do carpool members access gated parking lots/decks?
Your carpool permit will have a chip embedded inside of it. Hold the permit up to the electronic prox card reader located at the gated entrance for access.
Can I register for my own individual permit and also be part of a carpool?
No. To be eligible to participate all members of the carpool must turn in their current parking permits (if applicable), thus canceling their present parking access.
Can I participate in more than one carpool?
No. Carpool participants may only belong to one carpool group.
What are the carpool leader's responsibilities?
Carpool leaders are responsible for the following actions:
- Applying for the carpool online.
- Inviting other people to join the carpool as members.
- Paying for and receiving the carpool permit.
- Splitting the permit fee and collecting any fees due from the other members of the carpool.
- Notifying the Parking and Transportation office if members leave the carpool or if the carpool disbands.
- Filling member vacancies within 14 days if the carpool has fewer than two (2) members.
- Reporting any malfunctions of the carpool permit to the PTS customer service office.
Can more than one vehicle be associated with a carpool permit?
Yes. Carpool leaders and members may register as many of their own vehicles as needed. Remember to place the hangtag in the vehicle that is being driven to campus. Vehicles not displaying the carpool permit are subject to citation.
If one of the vehicles in a carpool is ticketed or towed, who is responsible?
Each vehicle associated with the carpool permit will be registered under the owner’s name. (Please do not register your carpool partner’s vehicle to your account.) Carpool leaders and members are responsible for their personal vehicles’ citations and towing fees.
What should I do if my carpool member leaves Georgia Tech?
If a carpool member leaves Georgia Tech, the carpool leader will have 14 days to fill the vacancy if the carpool is fewer than two people.
- If the vacancy remains open after 14 days, the carpool will be considered void and the leader holder will be assessed the full, prorated fee for the parking permit.
- If the carpool originally consisted of three or more people, please notify PTS of the leaving member, but the carpool may remain active with two or more people.
- If the carpool leader leaves Georgia Tech, the carpool will be disbanded and members will have to re-apply for a new carpool permit.
How do I add or remove members from my carpool?
The carpool leader should contact carpool@gatech.edu with a request to add or remove carpool members.
What should I do if I drive alone or forget to bring the carpool permit?
Each carpool participant may obtain up to 12 complimentary days of parking per permit year.
- Upon customer request, daily parking passes (good for one day of free parking) will be issued in an ungated parking location.
- The day passes can only be requested at the PTS customer service office on the day in which parking is needed.
- The passes may be used all in one month or spread out over the year.
- Free day passes are non-transferrable and expire at the end of the permit year.
How will I be notified that my carpool has been approved or denied?
The carpool leader and members will be notified by email once a carpool has been approved or denied. During the registration period for the upcoming permit year, carpool permits may not be processed by PTS immediately. If carpool leaders have not received a denial email, the application is still pending. Leaders will receive an approval or denial email once the application is processed by PTS.
Who is not eligible for a carpool permit?
- Persons already in another carpool. Persons listed twice in the same carpool.
- Persons registered for a carpool permit and a regular permit.
- Persons living within 1/4 mile of campus.
- Any participant providing fraudulent information in order to obtain a carpool permit will be removed from the carpool and the following actions will be taken:
- The vehicle displaying the fraudulently obtained permit will be impounded, issued a citation, and the owner of the vehicle will be required to pay for the prorated use of the parking facility from the date the permit was issued through the date the fraud was discovered.
- In addition, students will be reported to the Dean of Students for disciplinary action. Employee infractions will be reported to the employee’s supervisor.
Additional Information
Rules & Regulations
Carpool Rules & Regulations
To view more detailed information about the official rules and regulations of Georgia Tech Parking and Transportation Services’ carpool permit program, please see the following file.
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