It's not a portal issue because the carpool, all carpools and schoolbuses, etc. other transportation, come and leave with no incident. It's just my one Sim can't get inside and so the carpool drives away after an hour. Does the lack of a portal account for a Sim not being able to enter the carpool?
And now my game isn't even running because there is a problem with my disk so I suppose this problem is moot now for me. There are days when I just want to burn these discs in a Nazi-like bonfire.
I suppose I'll grumble today and try to figure out the disc problem tomorrow or when I have more patience (read: more sugar in my system).