The unique potential of RideshareOnline.com is beginning to be realized in commute trip reduction efforts. The ridematch service, which went online in 2000, contains the names, email addresses and phone numbers of up to 8,000 possible carpool or vanpool partners in the Puget Sound area. Much of its capacity for increasing the numbers of people ridesharing during peak commute times, lies in focusing on known groups of people with one destination in common week after week—their employment site.
Syd Pawlowski, manager of Rideshare Operations for King County Metro, said that studies indicate the potential for increased ridesharing in our region is far from maxed out. “The online ridematch service is an excellent example of collaboration among six public transit agencies,” Pawlowski added. “The end result is an Internet success story and an example of how individual commuters and employers can have a positive impact on regional mobility.”
Staff is available during regular business hours Monday through Friday to assist commuters who have questions that can’t be answered by RideshareOnline.com by calling 1-800-427-8249. Participant information is updated every three months to ensure viable matches. In addition, King County Metro Rideshare Operations provides personalized and customized services and promotions targeted at work sites.
Employer
access to database is win-win
Putting access to the ridematch database in the hands of employers makes
it a valuable tool for employee transportation coordinators. ETCs may
enter commute information on behalf of employees who do not have Internet
access. Reports about employee commute information may be downloaded to
identify commute patterns or a match list can be printed for new employees
to inform them of rideshare opportunities.
SAFECO Employee Transportation Coordinator Jeff Aumell has nothing but praise for the advent of ETC Access. “It puts a powerful tool in my hands for helping to create new carpools and fill seats in vanpools,” Aumell said. “I like it because I can monitor our activity and evaluate the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns.”
ETCs wishing to sign up for ETC Access should contact Rideshare Operations at 1-800-427-8249 or at rideshare@rideshareonline.com.
Beyond
self-serve: Rideshare Plus offers more
Rideshare
Plus is a fee-based program available through King County Metro Rideshare
Operations to provide customized and personalized ridematching services
and incentives to work sites, groups of employers or municipalities. The
City of Bellevue is offering Rideshare Plus for free to downtown employers
during its Access Downtown construction project.
Employers using Rideshare Plus are assigned a Rideshare Representative from Rideshare Operations to provide extra staffing and personalized help to employees. The Rideshare Representative will follow up with employees’ ridematch requests, even calling possible carpool partners to find the right match. Special financial incentives to encourage vanpool formation include vouchers toward payment of vanpool fares or vouchers toward purchase of goods to reward new drivers.
Besides the personal touch of Rideshare Plus services, a commitment by employers to encourage employees to try online ridematching can make a difference in the numbers of new ridematch applications. The more applications entered by a group of commuters that share the same or nearby destinations, the greater the chances of forming carpools and vanpools.
Work
site promotions, Intranet links play roles
Rideshare Operations provides rideshare promotional materials to employers
for a spring promotion and in the fall for Rideshare Week. Rideshare Week
resulted in 1,832 new ridematch applications and more than 1,000 updated
applications. Many of the work sites that participated helped by distributing
an email to employees with a link to RideshareOnline.com.
About 75% of ridematch applications are submitted online. It helps that a number of employers, including SAFECO, have posted a permanent Intranet link to RideshareOnline.com along with information about ridesharing to increase awareness and encourage ridematch applications.