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With an estimated 30 million empty seats on Canadian roads each day, carpooling presents a sustainable solution to environmental, economic, and traffic challenges. Carpool.ca connects commuters, helping them find partners easily through a secure, free platform. Participants can track trips, assess greenhouse gas savings, and discover matches along their route. Engage with local initiatives like Carpool Week and Match Madness to foster a collaborative commuting culture that eases congestion and cuts costs for everyone involved.
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Why? • Estimated 16 million cars on the road in Canada • Of these 80 percent occupied only by their driver • Estimated 30,000,000 empty seats driven to work each day
Carpool Benefits • Save the Environment: Fewer trips = fewer emissions • Save Time: Fewer cars = less congestion • Save Money: Reduced commuting costs (fuel, parking, maintenance) • Move more people in fewer cars to reduce infrastructure and societal costs associated with vehicle use ($.31km)
The Tool: www.carpool.ca • Carpool.ca was created to help commuters identify potential carpool partners • The system is free, secure and easy to use • Registration is not a commitment – it is an exploration of options.
Carpool.ca Match Report 1 • Commuters create a Profile: identifying their commuting habits and preferences. • Commuters request a ‘match list’: a list of users that the system has determined to be compatible based on the information provided. The report plots matches on a map along with contact information and trip details. • Two Match List types are available: The origin/destination match report illustrates matches based on home and work locations (shown at right).
Carpool.ca Match Report 2 • The route match report shows matches along the user’s route.
Carpool.ca: Contact Matches • Participants contact matches to assess personal compatibility, compare needs and availability using messaging system.
Carpool.ca: Trip Tracker • Participant can use the optional Trip Tracker Calendar to track trips of all modes to measure GHG savings (below). • Reports are available to measure savings resulting from tracked trips. Savings can be measured by individual, employer/destination region (right).
Carpool.ca: Calgary Stats • 3256 current registered participants • 716 are traveling from outside Calgary
Engaging Commuters: Outreach and Promotion • Carpool.ca partners with governments, employers, post-secondary institutions and other stakeholders to engage commuters. • Outreach provided to stakeholder partners to support promotional efforts. • Promotional materials are supplied to groups as requested. • Annual promotions : - Carpool Week (October) - Match Madness (March)
Engaging Commuters:Social Media • Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube and Pinterest are used to increase program awareness and participation. • Facebook page is used to share stats, facts, event information. • Promotional messages broadcast daily through Twitter. • Carpool.ca application now generates New #Carpool Alerts through Twitter (see right).
Regional Participation • According to Stats Canada: • Town of Okotoks 42.9% population increase from 17,145 in 2006 to 23,981 in 2011 • Town of Cochrane 27.8% population increase from 13,760 in 2006 to 17,580 in 2011
Regional Participation • This chart compares Carpool.ca participants per 1000 persons (scale on the right in red) overlaid with a line indicating distance from Calgary’ city centre in km (scale on the left in blue). • Interest in carpooling increases with distance. • As distance increases the difficulty to find a carpool match can inhibit carpooling, likely as a result of smaller populations resulting in lower number of compatible partners available.
How to Increase Participation • Promote carpooling and www.carpool.ca to community groups and public. • Information and links on community web sites. • Explore opportunities for road signage in Cochrane. • Engage social media community. • Participate in Carpool.ca promotions such as Carpool Week (October) & Match Madness (March) • Explore Park & Pool parking options when creating LRT locations
Regional Support • Program funded by City of Calgary since 2001 and available to all commuting to Calgary. • No charge to regional communities. 25% of Calgary Carpool.ca users travel from outside Calgary • Support is needed from regional communities to increase program awareness, reduce traffic and emissions.