Dear Smartphone: Rideshare is Not Work Friendly

First Mile/Last Mile/ And In Between!

DEAR MS. SMARTPHONE: THIS MORNING I MISSED MY TRAIN TO WORK BECAUSE I TOOK RIDESHARE, BUT I SELECTED THE POOL/LINE OPTION. SO,THE DRIVER HAD TO MAKE TWO ADDITIONAL STOPS BEFORE  WE GOT TO THE CALTRAIN. I REALLY WANT TO USE SHARE TRIPS TO REDUCE MY CARBON FOOTPRINT AND TRAFFIC CONGESTION, BUT I AM CONFLICTED.  Rusty, Palo Alto

Dear Rusty: There is no question that you are doing a good thing- taking rideshare and pooling too. But, you can’t be late for work either! And, it’s not Amtrak, like the image. Now that you know the schedule, you could try leaving earlier. Or, if you pool a few more times,  see if you can find fellow riders going to the train and initiate your own “Express Pool.” I’ll try to reach out to people at Uber and Lyft and see if they have suggestions for you beyond leaving earlier. One bright note is that you are more likely to be able to Pool or Line on the return segment, from train station to home.