It will take a lot more than higher gas prices to get us to carpool

It will take a lot more than higher gas prices and parking rates to get Puget Sound drivers to carpool.

A Seattle Times study shows that even if gas prices increased to $5 a gallon, 18.6 percent of drivers would be convinced to find an alternative to driving by themselves.

It’s quite possible the reason people don’t want to carpool is because they know how inconvenient it can be, KIRO Radio’s Tom Tangney said.

“It’s great, it saves money,” he added. However, people have different schedules.

Unless a carpool group starts and ends their day at the exact same time, it just doesn’t work out.

“I want to be able to go when I want,” Tom said, role playing a Puget Sound driver.

Of the county drivers in the greater Seattle area, 40.5 percent in King County wouldn’t be willing to find an alternative to commuting alone, the study points out. That’s low compared to Pierce County drivers; 60 percent would be unwilling to stop driving solo. In Kitsap County, 59.3 percent of drivers said they would be unwilling to do anything but drive to work alone.

But what if there was a carrot dangled in front of drivers in the greater Seattle area? How about convenient high-speed transit or HOV lanes that would knock off one-third of someone’s commute? One out of five drivers said that would get them out of their cars.

“We are in love with our cars and being in them alone,” Tom said.

There is one method for getting people out of their cars: Design them to be uncomfortable.

For starters, get rid of air conditioning, KIRO Radio’s John Curley said. Curley’s car doesn’t have the luxury of air conditioning and heats up pretty quickly during the summer.

“My back is soaking wet,” he announced. “If you just made it a little more uncomfortable for people…”

There is a silver lining to the study, however. Even though only 18.6 percent said they would stop driving alone and use high-speed transit, that would take an estimated 310,000 car commuters off the road. It would help congestion, Tom said.

So when “97 percent, when asked, are in favor of public transportation, they’re in favor of you taking the bus,” Curley quipped.

And Tom already does, so that’s of no help to anyone.