Countywide : Major Ad Campaign to Push Car-Pooling

Ventura County commuters will be urged to join a car-pool at least one day a week in an ambitious four-month, $4-million promotional campaign that is to be detailed Wednesday.

The campaign, called “Team Rideshare,” will use television, radio and billboards in a bid to reduce the number of cars traveling on Southern California’s freeways. Pam Hill, a spokeswoman for the campaign, said it will target 5 million people who ride to work alone in their cars in Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

She said Ventura County drivers will be able to seek a ride-sharing partner by calling (800) 286-RIDE.

Organizers warn that Southern California’s freeway speeds will slow significantly in the next few years unless more cars are removed from the region’s highways, Hill said. Most of the money for the car-pooling campaign has been provided by the California Department of Transportation and the South Coast Air Quality Management District.