Program to offer cash incentives for carpooling to work

Commuters who drive on some of the D.C. region's most congested highways will be eligible to earn $2 a day by carpooling to work, under a pilot program launched Monday.

The three-month program sponsored by Commuter Connections will reward commuters who currently travel alone along any stretch of the Capital Beltway from Bethesda to Tysons Corner; the Beltway from the Baltimore-Washington Parkway to Interstate 270; and Interstate 395 from the District across the 14th Street bridge into Northern Virginia. If enough people sign up, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, which coordinates the network of transportation groups that make up Commuter Connections, could extend the program to other roads in the region.

The program is modeled on Atlanta's Cash for Commuters incentive, which offers drivers $3 a day for three months to find alternatives to driving alone, including carpooling, biking, public transit and working from home. Over five years, 29,000 drivers have participated, according to the Council of Governments.

Washington area commuters who travel those three routes during peak commuting times can sign up for the "Pool Rewards" program at http://www.commuterconnections.org.