Are you looking to save money on your downtown commute but biking, walking or transit aren't a good fit? You might want to give carpooling a try. It's a great way to save on gas, parking and wear and tear on your car.

A quick scan of monthly parking permit rates at private garages in the central business district (Burnside to PSU, I-405 to Naito) found that the average monthly parking permit cost to be about $180. By carpooling with one person, you could reduce your parking cost by $90.

If you'd like to reduce your parking costs further, the city of Portland provides discounts on monthly parking permits for carpoolers. SmartPark garages offer monthly carpool parking permits ranging from $75 - $110. Rates are lowest for three person carpools.

With a downtown carpool parking permit, you can park at any of the 500 five-hour on-street metered spaces for $100 per month. These spots tends to be on the outer edges of the central downtown, however.

Do you want to carpool but don't have a carpool partner? Try the region's free carpool matching website, www.CarpoolMatchNW.org If you'd prefer to carpool with your co-workers and word-of-mouth is not bearing fruit, contact us about working with your HR department to create an employer scattermap to identify co-workers nearby.