For some in Northwest Indiana, van's the way to and from Chicago

Schererville resident Jeannette Stephens said van-pooling is the best way to commute to work in Chicago.

At 6:50 a.m., a 14-passenger van with Stephens and 11 other commuters leaves the Griffith Kmart parking lot at the corner of Cline Avenue and Ridge Road. She has been sharing the ride with fellow commuters for 19 years.

The Dan Ryan Expressway road construction project will begin after rush hour traffic Friday night. The project will cut Illinois' busiest expressway, Interstate 90/94, to 50 percent capacity. The first rush hour affected will be on Monday.

The Dan Ryan will be reduced to three inbound and three outbound lanes in the initial past of the road construction project from 13th Street to the Interstate 57 interchange. Express lanes will be closed from 31st Street to 71st Street.

Stephens, who has a short-term lease through Pace, said passengers on the van pay $82 a month, which includes gas, tolls and parking. She said drivers pay only $48 a month, and take turns maintaining the van's condition.

Judi Kulm, manager of media relations for Pace, said currently there are about 40 Pace vans that car-pool form Northwest Indiana. She said while Pace has limited resources, they will work with commuters to provide as many vehicles as possible during the Dan Ryan construction project.

Stephens said for two weeks she observed 50 cars inbound and 50 cars outbound every day. She said on average, 47 out of 50 vehicles on the road only consisted of a single commuter.

"My suggestion is that all of them start up their own commuter van," Stephens said.

Calumet Township resident Amber Kissinger, who works in Chicago at an insurance brokerage firm, drives a Pace mini-van to Chicago daily with four other commuters. On April 3, her group is going to take the Dan Ryan.

"We are all wondering what's going to happen," Kissinger said. "We've still got to get there."

Munster resident Dolores Siniawski can't walk as well as she once could because of a knee replacement surgery, but she still must commute. She now rides with Kissinger. For Siniawski, not having to walk from the South Shore station to her job has been helpful.

"They deliver me right on the corner of Randolph and Dearborn," Siniawski said.

Another option commuters have for van pooling is VPSI Inc.

Angie Payne, Midwest area manager for VPSI, said the company matches commuters with others who want to car pool.

"We lease a variety of vehicles," Payne said, adding the company operates on a 30-day, pay as you go, program. She said one person takes primary responsibility for the vehicle, and said commuters are responsible for fuel, parking and toll fees.

There are other options for commuters who want to carpool, but do not want to lease a vehicle.

Steven Schoeffler, executive director of Edwardsville, Ill.-based eRideShare.com, said his site serves as a ride-share bulletin board and has over 15,000 commuter, travel and local ride-share listings. He said there are 369 car pool listings in Illinois and 106 listings in Indiana.

Schoeffler started the website in 1999 to help both motorists and the environment.

"I thought this would be something people would find useful," Schoeffler said. "We've already seen $3 gas, and it's likely to get much higher."

Mark Anderson, general manager of Coach USA of Indiana, said although Coach USA doesn't use the Dan Ryan, he anticipates traffic will increase on the route the company does take, Interstate 294. He said the company is asking riders to plan for longer travel times, but said the company is not planning to change times or add stops.

Anderson said because of the Dan Ryan construction, more riders will likely rely on Coach USA to get them to Midway and O'Hare.

"Anytime there is any type of construction out there, it is good for our business," Anderson said.