Looking for Help & Ideas on Carpooling Project

AngryHippie

M50, Rush hour,
Many of us have been through this hell, But if you look around how many cars are full ?
Plan is:
Setup website putting people with close commuting destinations or origins in touch with each other.
It has been found statistically that people prefer travelling in cars, and If there are that many people on our ridiculously overloaded motorway systems, it is in everyones interest to give it a try at least.
Plan is basic, You pick a user name, enter where you commute from & to and what times, days of week etc. Without full disclosure of details, you can find out how many people are driving a similar commute every day. I know that a car is very convenient, but believe me next January when Oil demands rise due to heating etc. Its gonna hit all of us in the pocket.
Critical to the plan is the involvement of some of the more forward thinking Insurance companies, and indeed employers.
If you have any ideas, or suggestions as to how this could work or even potential snags, It would be greatly appreciated.
I am hoping to get something concrete up and running before christmas, considering the designated driver situations that will arise.
I know many people will be reluctant to get into a strangers car and I completely understand that many women in particular would be wary of such a plan, but given that the system would require proof of identification at some stage for insurance reasons, There should be full transparency of the system in the event of any abuse of its facilities or trust.
I'm not sure if this idea has been put into practice anywhere before, If not its about time, If so, can someone point me in the right direction.

Just imagine what taking 5 or 10% of the empty cars off our roads would do for the average speed, commute duration and stress levels in all of our working days.........

dewsbury

See www.swiftcommute.ie.
I just stumbled upon it and know nothing about it.
However, I seems to be just what you want.

I suspect that the concept of car pooling has some way to go yet.

I have a mad theory as follows....

a) Government announces that nobody will be allowed onto the M50 between 7:30 and 9:30 in a single occupancy car.

b) There is general uproar about the im-practicality of the above.

c) The law is passed anyway!

d) After 6 months the M50 gridlock is long gone and the vast majority are in favour of the new law ! The world is changed forever!!

....I know it's a bit cloud cuckoo land !

silverharp

dewsbury wrote: »

See www.swiftcommute.ie.
I just stumbled upon it and know nothing about it.
However, I seems to be just what you want.

I suspect that the concept of car pooling has some way to go yet.

I have a mad theory as follows....

a) Government announces that nobody will be allowed onto the M50 between 7:30 and 9:30 in a single occupancy car.

b) There is general uproar about the im-practicality of the above.

c) The law is passed anyway!

d) After 6 months the M50 gridlock is long gone and the vast majority are in favour of the new law ! The world is changed forever!!

....I know it's a bit cloud cuckoo land !

here is another one, in 5 years time petrol is 5 euros per ltr, people start carpooling with or without the law changing, see above for benefits

AngryHippie

Had a look at that page, signed up, put in details for an average enough commute, Surprise, no matches.....

For some reason, even when I browsed it and checked out commutes from Kildare, Meath, Wicklow, Westmeath, Offaly and Longford to Dublin, I managed to find....... 9 members in total, most of those were seeking a lift.

Their Marketing strategy doesn't seem to be very effective, as there are only 7 in Dublin-Dublin.

Doesn't seem to commited to any effective results. My guess us they are waiting for google to come along and buy them for a ridiculous sum, But with 16 Users in total that I could find that end up on the M50 every day, That day'll be a long time coming. They don't seem to have approached Insurers or Employers at all and while the concept is still solid, Their disclaimer does not inspire confidence.


Does anybody know any out of work web designers that would be able to put together a similar front end ? i.e use of Google maps and secure login system. After that its only a matter of a business plan, which could be put together quite swiftly and a series of aggressive presentations and advertising and PR to make it a realistic option for more than 16 people. The incentives have got to be there though, such as a pricing system that would calculate how much you could legitimately charge for such a system without technically making a profit on it. If the money is paid only after a safely completed journey, the insurance companies policies are still watertight. No liability if there is a dunt though....
It really bugs me that nobody has made the small leap of faith to push this, even as an alternative to over-crowded public transport.

lucyburn

That's a great idea, i wish you the best of luck with it.

AngryHippie

:eek:If some people would even vote on the poll, I'd have some idea where to apply pressure to get the incentives in place!!!!!!!

Victor

I don't drive, so I can't meaningfully vote.

You might get a better response on the Motors board.

Promoting carpooling is often counter-productive. People who would carpool, currently use public transport. Motorists see carpooling as 'for other people'.

AngryHippie

It's lookin like the no-nutjobs and the fuel split are going to be the leading incentives on this one, The two that are toughest to mediate. It's gonna take some seriously clever screening to put people that won't drive each other nuts in the same car !
Keep polling people, even If you don't leave comments, If I get 100 results in then I've got something meaningful to work with.....

gbh

I know there are car pooling lanes in some of the major cities in the US.

Although you are talking 5 or 6 lane highways there usually and it would be more difficult on the M50.

However I think changing the tolling system might be a solution. Cars with 2 occupants should pay maybe half a toll. Cars with 3 or more should pay no toll.

And Cars with one occupant should pay an increased toll.

This would be easier to implement if the current toll bridge stayed in place as there would be normal 1 occupancy booths and then there would be other booths for multiple occupancy cars where a person in the booth verified how many in the car before charging the toll.

AngryHippie

gbh wrote: »

I know there are car pooling lanes in some of the major cities in the US.

Although you are talking 5 or 6 lane highways there usually and it would be more difficult on the M50.

However I think changing the tolling system might be a solution. Cars with 2 occupants should pay maybe half a toll. Cars with 3 or more should pay no toll.

And Cars with one occupant should pay an increased toll.

This would be easier to implement if the current toll bridge stayed in place as there would be normal 1 occupancy booths and then there would be other booths for multiple occupancy cars where a person in the booth verified how many in the car before charging the toll.

Cheers for that, good points. Possible use of bus corridors for full cars, might be an idea, but again, buses usually stop every half mile and have a low speed because of standing passengers, still, food for thought.. Thanks again.

AngryHippie

Another 2 hours of your life stolen by the M50 ???
Anyone ?

Occidental

Doesn't really work for me as my hours are odd, I don't travel far(20mins) and I'm going from a rural area to a rural area.

When I was in the UK the biggest frustration I remember with car pooling was finding someone reliable and punctual to pool with.

AngryHippie

Fair enough, I appreciate the input all the same.
There is no real problem with a rural commute though, as a traffic jam is just some clod afraid to pass a tractor, and Public transport isn't there as a frustrating option, mocking you...

sdat

AngryHippie wrote: »

Had a look at that page, signed up, put in details for an average enough commute, Surprise, no matches.....

For some reason, even when I browsed it and checked out commutes from Kildare, Meath, Wicklow, Westmeath, Offaly and Longford to Dublin, I managed to find....... 9 members in total, most of those were seeking a lift.

Their Marketing strategy doesn't seem to be very effective, as there are only 7 in Dublin-Dublin.

Doesn't seem to commited to any effective results. My guess us they are waiting for google to come along and buy them for a ridiculous sum, But with 16 Users in total that I could find that end up on the M50 every day, That day'll be a long time coming. They don't seem to have approached Insurers or Employers at all and while the concept is still solid, Their disclaimer does not inspire confidence.

By the looks of it, I think it time to 'Talk to Joe'.... and maybe Jerry Ryan and Ray Darcy. I'm not joking, I know allot of people who realy do listen to what they have to say. And if anything, it's free publicity and you get to advertise the whole thing in 'your words'.

AngryHippie wrote: »

The incentives have got to be there though, such as a pricing system that would calculate how much you could legitimately charge for such a system without technically making a profit on it. If the money is paid only after a safely completed journey, the insurance companies policies are still watertight. No liability if there is a dunt though....
It really bugs me that nobody has made the small leap of faith to push this, even as an alternative to over-crowded public transport.

I was thinking, what if a subscription was paid - you could do it through PayPal on-line or by cheque or cash. And all the money that is collected could be put to work for the people involved in the car pooling. You could maybe do deals with the likes of Quickfit and buy vouchers for new tyres, do a deal with Statoil and get fuel vouchers for the drivers of the cars.

I'm sure there are a hundred ways of doing it - but this way things are kinda regulated and it makes sure that nobody is profiting because and money goes to the 'agent' or 'organizer'.

I would get involved myself except my travel times are so irregular that you would not be able to rely on me.

As for a website - I could try and put something together. It would only be basic, but might do the job. Give me a little time and I will get back to you about it.

nmk

Suggest you might talk to these guys....

They are a sustainable transport company based out of Cloughjordan (members of the village project).

They are planning on (or may have already) setting up a carpooling service out of Cloughjordan.

Their MD has just been appointed to the board of CIE to advise on Sustainable transport.

Just get rid of the rip off toll bridge
God all the engines idling
all the fuel wasted
all that pollution averted

I wish you well with the carpooling - but the real problem with the toll bridge is that its a toll bridge

lets not forget that