A number of Butler County residents say vanpooling has changed their commute to Pittsburgh from costly and monotonous to a positive experience.

“We have a blast,” said Kim Getz of Penn Township, who has been manning a van to the 'Burgh for nearly a year.

Getz and 10 other people in her van connected through the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission's CommuteInfo program.

The program encourages commuters in a 10-county region that includes Butler to share rides by carpool, vanpool, walking or biking. Participants are given information and referrals to transportation alternatives in their neighborhood.

For example, commuters can get a free commuting options report that includes contact information for the regional fixed-route transit operators, park-and-ride facilities and a list of other individuals making a similar commute who are interested in vanpooling or carpooling.

The program, around since the 1970s, has shown steady growth in the region in recent years.

“People are looking for ways to save more of their paycheck,” said Lisa Kay Schweyer, program developer.

According to the organization, 84,203 county residents, about 45 percent of the population, travel to and from their job.

CommuteInfo has 37 vanpools representing 583 people and 19 carpools representing 43 people. The vans not only travel from the county to Pittsburgh, but they also run from Pittsburgh to Cranberry Township and Boyers.

Getz said she became involved four years ago when she started working in the University of Pittsburgh's IT department in Oakland.

She said the cost to drive was about $40 a week in gas plus parking, which can run up to $200 a month.

Getz said she could not find a convenient bus route, so she signed up for CommuteInfo. That organization connected her to a woman and they carpooled for about a year. When that woman moved, Getz spent a second year carpooling with a different woman, who also moved.

Then in April, CommuteInfo located enough people traveling to the same general area to get a van. The van is leased by CommuteInfo and the cost is defrayed by federal funding. However, one of the commuters also must sign the van lease.

Because the riders split the remainder of the cost of the van's lease, CommuteInfo recommends a group no smaller than seven people.

Getz's riders from Butler pay about $160 a month. The people who are picked up closer to Pittsburgh, such as Shaler in Allegheny County, pay less.

Getz drives the van but does not get a break on the cost. She starts by picking up four riders in south Butler at 7:10 a.m. In Gibsonia, another two riders get on. And there are more stops in Glenshaw and Shaler.

A rider who is running late can still get on the van by meeting it at a later stop.

Getz's riders are dropped off in East Liberty, Shadyside and Oakland.

The program also offers a safety net to riders who have an emergency while at work and must return home before the van is set to leave. Up to four times a year, a participant can be reimbursed for the alternative cost to get home.

“I'm spending way less money on commuting than I was,” Getz said. “And we have a grand old time.”

Getz said the riders have bonded, sharing information later in the day by way of texts and Facebook. They sometimes get together for lunch.

“And we have doughnuts on Friday,” Getz said. “We're not missing out on anything.”

Mary Strange of Evans City said the van she's been taking to Oakland for the past 10 years in fairly quiet in the morning.

“It's so nice not to drive every day,” said Strange, who works for UPMC. “In the morning, you can read a book, think, sleep.”

Strange said she previously tried riding a bus, but found it was not as convenient or as direct as vanpooling.

Strange said over the years, the cost of the vanpool has varied depending on the price of gas and number of participants. Currently, there are about 10 riders on her van and she pays about $100.

“We're looking for riders,” she said.

Anyone interested in learning about CommuteInfo should call 888-819-6110 or visit the program's website at www.commuteinfoorg.