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For a variety of reasons, the number of West Valley hikers can vary considerably from week to week. This makes it difficult to efficiently plan who will be riding with whom each week. To address this issue, we have automated the process to make it fairer and more efficient. The process utilizes two tables.
The first dynamic web page is the Car Pool Schedule. Hikers use this to choose whether they plan to hike the following week, or not. The second spreadsheet is the Driver Selection Process.
Here is how the process works in practice:
- On Wednesday evening or Thursday, the “Driver Selection” spreadsheet will be updated based on that day’s hike attendance, and will identify the primary and secondary drivers for the following week. Additionally, the updated “Car Pool Schedule” will be posted, with the primary and secondary drivers identified, and the meeting location and time indicated. The meeting location will normally be the home of the primary driver.
- All West Valley Hikers will input their plans into the “Car Pool Schedule” as early as possible but no later than Monday at 8:00 pm. If either the primary or secondary driver will not be hiking or cannot drive, then the next available driver(s) in the "Driver Selection" spreadsheet will be the replacement driver(s).
- On Monday (after 8:00 PM) or Tuesday, all West Valley Hikers who plan to hike will check the schedule to make sure they have the correct meeting location and time. (Note: If any hiker changes their plans at the last minute, they will input the change into the “Car Pool Schedule” and call anyone who might be affected by their change.)
- On Wednesday morning, all hikers will meet at the designated location and time, and the primary driver will take all hikers if his or her vehicle has sufficient capacity. If the secondary driver is needed, the hikers will divide up between the two cars. (Note: If there are 6 or 7 hikers, and the primary driver has capacity for only 5 hikers, we could consider shifting to an alternative driver with the required capacity.)
- The “Driver Selection Process” spreadsheet calculates driver credit based on miles driven and number of passengers. The spreadsheet also tracks cumulative charges to riders based on passenger-miles used or provided. In practice, over the long run, debit or credit for passenger-miles used or provided even out and no money changes hands.
- We think this approach will be fair to all hikers, efficient in optimizing use of our vehicles, and (over the long run) simpler than the previous system. It will ensure that all hikers get a ride when they want to hike, and accommodate changes in the number of hikers from week to week without a lot of phone calls, texts or emails.
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