If your carpool has gotten sloppy, perhaps it’s time to wipe the slate clean and start fresh.
Lee Fisher has some advice. She belonged to a carpool of several families whose children attend Denver School of the Arts, a 40-minute commute from their homes.
“Communication and promptness are key,” she said.
Her advice for carpoolers:
* Hold a meeting of all the carpool members. Decide on a specific rotating schedule of drivers. “Our schedule was set in stone,” Fisher said.
* Set firm pickup times, and observe them.
Caveat: Flexibility is also important.
* Exchange cell phone and home phone numbers, and e-mail addresses.
* Elect one carpool member as the designated e-mailer, in charge of notifying the carpool members of occasional changes.
* Establish a policy to cover vacations and other foreseeable absences when the designated carpool driver cannot drive.
* Establish a policy about sick days and other situations. Fisher’s group agreed that the designated parent would drive even if his or her child was ill.
* Plan a cushion of time to allow for rush-hour traffic snarls and bad weather. “Promptness is really important,” Fisher said. “It’s stressful driving during rush hour. You want to get them there on time, and they want to be there on time.”
* Establish a plan for snow days and significant storms.
