LEWISTON - For Julie Rosenbach, the van beats a car pool, easily.

"In a van pool, some people talk and some read or just listen to their iPods," said Rosenbach, environmental coordinator for Bates College and the driver for Go Maine's newest van pool, between Portland and Lewiston. "The biggest fear people have about a car pool is that they're going to have to talk. But the van is a little more anonymous than a car pool, and I think people like that."

Rosenbach and 10 other Portland residents - all employees at the college or St. Mary's Regional Medical Center - began their van pool on April 28.

Carey Kish, manager of the Go Maine program, said it's the first van pool the organization has put together running from Portland into Lewiston.

"But I don't think it will be the last, because there are a lot of good jobs in the area and a lot of people driving to them," he said. "When they see that we can do this van pool, it's going to make it easier to move into other areas and bring more people to L-A."

Go Maine is promoting its annual Commute Another Way Week beginning May 12. That's an effort to get commuters out of their private cars and onto buses, bicycles, walking paths and ride shares, like car or van pools. CityLink, the Twin Cities bus system, will mark May 13 with free bus rides all day long.

For a fee of $90 per month, each rider gets consistent pickups and drop-offs. Go Maine, which is funded by the Maine Turnpike Authority, the Maine Department of Transportation and the Greater Portland Council of Governments, provides the van, an EZ Pass for turnpike tolls and pays for all maintenance. The riders' fees pay for the fuel. As driver, Rosenbach rides for free.

Go Maine operates 17 van pools, most running between Portland and Augusta. The group received a grant last year to purchase 11 new vans, and had one left over last month when Rosenbach contacted it to ask about creating pool between Portland and Lewiston.

Rosenbach said she'd tried car pooling, but the rides weren't consistent.

"We all had different schedules, so some people would drop out and others would start up," she said. "It was more hit than miss, but even when it worked you were using your own car."

She talked to Go Maine, then began looking for riders to share the trip.

"We needed eight people to get started, and we found them pretty quickly," Rosenbach said. The pool includes eight Bates workers and two St. Mary's workers. The meet at 7 a.m. each workday at a Park and Ride off Marginal Way, bound for a reserved parking spot off Central Avenue on the Bates campus. They meet up there at 5 p.m. each day to catch the ride home.

"So far, everyone has been really good about being on time," she said.

Rosenbach said her reasons for doing it are mostly environmental. Riders get to leave their cars at home, saving an estimated 82 gallons of gas and 1,500 pounds of carbon emissions per week. It makes economic sense, too. She estimates riders save $130 per month just on the cost of gasoline.

"And that doesn't include wear and tear on your car," she said.