CCA Introduces Vanpooling Programs to Benefit Employees, Environment

September 12, 2007
NASHVILLE, Corrections Corporation of America has introduced the CCA Employee Vanpooling Program at four of its correctional centers and plans to implement the transportation program throughout most of CCA's system of 65 correctional centers over the course of the next year.

"Vanpooling not only is environmentally-conscientious since it saves gasoline and keeps vehicles off the highways, it is an effective employee retention and recruitment tool," said Mike Latko, CCA's senior director of human resources.

"Many of our facilities are located in remote areas, and employees can spend hundreds of dollars on gas each month traveling to and from work," Latko said. "By participating in the CCA Vanpooling Program, employees can save significant money on gas, reduce wear and tear and insurance costs on their own vehicles, eliminate the stress of driving, and participate in goodwill for the environment. In a competitive job market, vanpooling is an avenue for CCA to set itself apart as an employer of choice."

Vanpooling programs are currently in place at CCA's Huerfano County Correctional Center (Walsenburg, Colo.), Central Arizona Detention Center and Florence Correctional Center (both in Florence, Ariz.), and is soon-to-be operational at North Fork Correctional Facility (Sayre, Okla.). These programs are coordinated on a month-to-month basis by national vanpooling provider VPSI Inc.

In most instances, up to 15 employees share a ride to work in a customized van, which picks up and drops off the employees at a central location near their homes. VPSI provides the van, analyzes employee addresses to determine ideal pick-up locations, and provides full liability insurance. CCA provides participating employees with a stipend to cover the majority of the vanpooling cost, meaning most employees pay only around $20 to $30 per month to participate, resulting in a cost savings of hundreds of dollars for many employees.

For example, at the Huerfano facility, three 15-passenger vans are used to transport first- and second-shift employees, as well as the facility's administrative staff, from Pueblo, Colo., to the facility, a 45-mile trip each way.

"Most of us who are participating were spending $60 to $90 a week on gas before we started vanpooling, and now we're spending only $30 a month to participate, so we're very excited about the cost savings," said Cecilia Abeyta, chief security clerk at Huerfano. "People sleep, read, or relax on the van, and we've been laughing a lot on the way to work or the way home, so we've all become better friends. It's a great incentive to work at Huerfano."