When TicketNetwork, Inc. heard that many employees with long commutes were carpooling to save on gas, the Connecticut-based company decided to offer a vanpool to some employees who lived near New Haven. But this isn’t the usual vanpool—it’s the answer to Janis Joplin’s prayers. Employees arrive at work like rock stars—in a Mercedes Benz!
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According to an article in the New Haven Independent by Markeshia Ricks, the luxury vanpool had two motives. Darnell Goldson, the company’s public relations coordinator, explained that the company wanted to follow through on the “overall mission and culture of providing expanded employee benefits … to help employees enjoy a higher quality of life.”
Goldson also explained that the company wanted an innovative recruiting tool to help find new talent for jobs and internships in the college-rich and tech-savvy New Haven area.
Of course, the vanpool also helps the environment and pleases the Connecticut Department of Transportation, where agency spokesperson Kevin Nursick told the paper the luxury vanpool is another “helpful approach” to alleviating road congestion and pressure on the infrastructure.
Pool participants love the 50-mile ride in the Mercedes Sprinter; some work, some read, and some just use the time for more sleep. All agree it is a great way to commute—in style.
I had an aunt who was a nun and drove a Mercedes. She justified it by pointing out how little costly maintenance it needed–maybe this pays off for the employer in the same way, in addition to the improved morale, etc.