VRE Passengers Get Special Delivery Home In Cases Of Emergency
Virginia Railway Express is offering a special service to our passengers that can get you home in case of emergency. Commuter Connections "Guaranteed Ride Home" (GRH) is regional effort to make commuting more attractive by taking away one of the concerns a commuter has -- what to do if a family emergency or unscheduled over time crops up! GRH takes that worry away by offering commuters a "safety net" that guarantees them a ride home in cases of family illness, unscheduled overtime or unusual emergency. This program is free and available to all VRE passengers.
A few of the benefits that GRH offers VRE passenger include:
- 100% coverage for emergency ride the ride is paid up front, no reimbursement necessary.
- Extended coverage - in addition to personal emergencies, unscheduled overtime is included as well.
- Cab ride or Rental car - for those living more than 40 miles away a cab ride or rental car is available.
A few things to keep in mind when using GRH:
- To qualify for an emergency ride due to unscheduled overtime your supervisor must be available to confirm authorized overtime.
- As soon as you know that you will have unscheduled overtime, call Commuter Connections at 1-800-745-RIDE to schedule your ride. Please call as early as possible.
- GRH representatives request that for unscheduled overtime you call no later than your normal quitting time to schedule a ride home. (You are asked for your hours on the registration form). For example: You are working on a report and realize that you may miss your train. You also still have another hour of work to accomplish and your supervisor has requested that you stay until you finish which may even make you miss the last train. As soon as you realize that you are unexpectedly working late and need a ride call GRH at 1-800-745-RIDE to schedule your ride. You can call any time before, but no later than your normally scheduled quitting time. Additionally, the operator will need to speak to your supervisor to confirm authorized overtime.
- GRH representatives want you to know that if you live more than 40 miles away from your work and require a ride due to unscheduled overtime you may be assigned a rental car. The mode of transportation to get you home is up to the GRH customer service representative.
Guaranteed Ride Home is a cooperative effort between Virginia, Maryland and DC through the Council of Governments (COG) to encourage commuters to use public transportation by removing the fear of how to get home in an emergency. COG estimates that this service and another one under consideration to encourage businesses to support commuting alternatives will reduce emissions by 1.19 tons of nitrogen oxide a day. The program began service January 13, 1997 and is open 6:00am to 10:00pm weekdays. It generally will not run in severe weather or on holidays. "Emergencies" include illness, a personal or family emergency or unscheduled overtime.
To reach Guaranteed Ride Home call 1-800-745-RIDE.
To have a registration form mailed today or request a Guaranteed Ride Home, call 1-800-745-RIDE or visit the GRH website!