Commuter Driving Options
Sustainable Mobility
From bike share to autonomous vehicles, new innovations are constantly emerging in the world of transportation. While we may be a few years away from mass-produced self-driving cars, the northwest metro region encourage the integration of new technologies in transportation to help provide equitable, accessible and sustainable mobility for all.
Carpooling
By sharing a ride, you reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality in the northwest metro region. Carpooling not only benefits the environment, but directly benefits you! Sharing a ride saves you time, money and reduces stress.
By traveling with three or more people in a single vehicle you are eligible to drive in the Express Lanes for free with the Switchable HOV Pass.
Vanpooling
Vanpools are the perfect commute option for commuters who travel more than 15 miles to work one-way. Passengers share the ride in a van which seats five-15 people and pay a monthly fee that covers the cost of fuel, insurance and vehicle maintenance. Learn more about vanpool incentives and tax credits, then try one of these vanpool services:
For Denver Metro region, use WayToGo. For the North Front Range region (Berthoud, Fort Collins, Greeley, Johnstown, Loveland), use VanGo.
Colorado Carshare
Colorado Carshare is a local 501(c)(3) nonprofit car-sharing organization serving the Denver-Boulder metro area. They provide and promote alternatives to individual car ownership, thereby reducing the environmental and social impacts associated with motor vehicle use.
Driving and Ride Sharing Apps
- Waze: Waze is a unique navigation platform because it provides real-time updates on routes by crowd-sourcing updates from their users. Users can mark where there is construction, an accident or police to let other drivers know what is ahead.
- Uber: Founded in 2009, Uber started a peer-to-peer ridesharing revolution. Uber is a ride-sharing service that allows people to order a ride using an app on their smartphone. Over the past years, it’s expanded to include a bicycle sharing platform, food delivery service and more. In 2018, Uber launched Uber POOL, a carpooling service that helped people reduce costs and carbon emissions by sharing a ride with someone going the same direction. Due to COVID-19 Uber POOL may be unavailable in certain regions.
- Lyft: Similar to Uber, Lyft is a peer-to-peer ride-sharing service that operates in over 300 cities in the United States. Lyft has also expanded beyond being an on-demand transportation company to include a bike share program and investments in developing the technology for autonomous vehicles.
Tolls and Express Lanes
The Northwest Parkway is a 75-mile-per-hour toll road, connecting E-470 at I-25 in the Denver north metro region with US 36 in Broomfield. A toll transaction is recorded either by reading the vehicle’s license plate or the ExpressToll transponder.
The US 36 Express Lanes connect Boulder to Denver at I-25. There’s an Express Lane in each direction, which allows drivers to carpool or pay a toll to use the 16-miles Express Lanes.
