New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
Do you commute to Boston? Do you wish you could relax on the commute? Save some money and wear and tear on your vehicle? There is a new business in the south coast that can help: Yes! We Van, LLC.
Yes! We Van’s “pool of vans” is an absolutely brilliant and award winning idea begun on November of 2008 when 28 commuters led by Noel Ciminello started a grass roots movement to lower commuting costs to Boston. It was such a darned good idea that it spread like proverbial wildfire and caught the attention of other commuters with the same concerns and issues. In 2010, Noel Ciminello, Suzana Alves and one other member took the van pool idea and turned it into a business venture to offer an effective way to lease vans to the van pool with less complication and less liability to the commuters – Yes We Van, LLC.
Yes! We Van was the winner of the 2010 transportation Demand Management Award for Renovation for a reason. They have provided a much needed service that has a smaller carbon footprint, de-stresses your daily commute, and transfers savings to your wallet.
In the Yes! We Van sponsored van pool commuters lease semi-private vans, split the gas costs amongst themselves, and spread out the driving duties. If you have a daily Boston to commute, Yes! We Van offers a cost efficient, less stressful alternative. In a van pool everyone works together to make the commute a success.
The inspiration for a “pool of vans” was a practical one: with rising transportation rates and gas prices, a way was needed to reduce costs from the daily commute. It seemed a no brainer to extend this idea to fellow commuters.
Not only was this a fantastic idea with massive benefits for local commuters, when the idea was brought to the city, they were very receptive. This meant another commuting channel to Boston and perhaps other lanes. This could mean higher paying jobs to the greater New Bedford area. For those in the New Bedford area who were qualified for jobs in Boston, but did not have a reliable car or could not afford the fuel costs – they now had the opportunity placed back in their laps. This meant the greater New Bedford area had wider access to more jobs. The economic benefits are obvious ones for the citizens and of course, tax for the city.
So what are the cost savings for you the potential commuter who is taking the bus, commuting with a friend or taking the rail? After all, this is the bottom line isn’t it? Think about the impact a gallon of gas has on your paycheck. The price of gas has recently begun moving northward (January prices we were paying 3.31/gallon and recently I paid 3.64/gallon). As a commuter driving alone – or perhaps driving to the Commuter Rail you bear 100% of that increase. Being part of a van pool, the increase is shared across all other participants.
Even if the cost was the same there are other aspects that make it far superior: riding a semi-private van means you are in essence riding with the same “faces”. Of course, people may come and go, but the pool of people is smaller. That means if you aren’t the type to read the paper, bury yourself in your phone or take a nap, you can enjoy some friendly banter. Then there is the green aspect of placing a larger group over one exhaust. It’s a far smaller cost to the environment. These are great reasons to van pool as opposed to taking the rail or a bus and the fact that it is cheaper to do make it far superior in every way.
As an added incentive, each new rider whose company is a TMA member company who leaves their car at home to join the van pool will receive $220 toward their commuting costs. That is 220 more reasons to join the Yes! We Van van pool. With a proposed MBTA fare increase already planned for July 1st, this gives those thinking of switching their commuting methods another reason to join the Yes! We Van van pool.
And, with a proposed MBTA fare increase already planned for July 1st, this gives those thinking of switching their commuting methods another reason to join the Yes! We Van vanpool.
Here is an example of the savings of switching to a van pool. Each of these methods will get you from the south coast to South Station in Boston. South coast commuters can see an immediate increase in their discretionary income simply by switching which seat they sit in.
Now for those of you like me who have …um … taken their lives into their own hands by taking a local cab, you may be wondering about the condition of these vans. We’ve included photographs in an album below so you can see that these vans are kept in immaculate condition inside and out. In addition they are maintained, washed & cleaned on a regular basis. Yes! We Van is 100% committed to providing safe, clean vans for their south coast riders.
Yes! We Van has such faith and confidence in what they do and that you will be hooked, they are letting you try out the van pool before you join! You can ride for FREE for 3 days and see what others are raving about!
Yes We Van is growing very rapidly and they plan to expand and offer more routes in the coming months and years. It’s a dynamic business model that is great for commuters, the economy and the environment alike. Check out Yes! We Van and join their growing family of happy, de-stressed commuters. Enjoy a safe, reliable, and comfortable ride to work. Produce a smaller carbon fingerprint, put a few extra bucks in your pocket and perhaps get that new job in Boston!
As well as their Boston “van pool run”, Yes! We van supports the SeaStreak Fast Ferry customers heading to Martha’s Vineyard through the New Bedford Terminal. 
They have packages available from Boston, Providence, Newport and even New Bedford itself. Traveling through the waters of New Bedford to Martha’s Vineyard is not only a smoother ride but think of the time savings. You could already be enjoying the island instead of sitting in the Cape traffic!
For those of you who aren’t interested in Boston or the Vineyard, you can use Yes! We Van’s service for a day trip, weekend adventure, or business trip to just about anywhere! You can even schedule it online.
Yes! We Van has such faith and confidence in what they do and that you will be hooked, they will let you try it before you join.You can ride for FREE for three days and see what others are raving about.
Yes! We Van is growing very rapidly and they plan to expand and offer more routes with their livery service in the coming months and years. It’s a dynamic business model that is great for commuters, the economy and the environment alike. Check out Yes! We Van and join their growing family of happy, destressed commuters. Enjoy a safe, reliable, and comfortable ride to work. Produce a smaller carbon fingerprint, put a dew extra bucks in your pocket and perhaps get that new job in Boston!
Yes! We Van
Phone: (304) 462-9826
E-Mail: info@yeswevan.org
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Yes-We-Van/364981313580507
Website: yeswevan.org/websites/yeswevan/
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Thank you NB Guide for helping us spread the word.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank our van pool committee for all the time, effort and energy they put into making our van pool run successfully. And, just as importantly, thank you to our commuters who help to make the commute a smooth and enjoyable ride.