The City of Ottawa and Transport Canada are hoping the
environment and commuters in Ottawa-Gatineau will reap benefits
from the newly launched website ottawaridematch.com.
Although there are already websites that match commuters in
Ottawa, this one is different according to Bob Streicher, manager
of Mobility and Area Traffic Management for the city.
"This is a map based system so that you can actually verify
peoples commuting locations on a map," he said. "There is a fair
bit of flexibility here where you can search by male/female,
smokers/non-smokers. The most valuable one is that you can search
by employer/employee group for others that work for the same
employer as you."
Such ride matching capabilities are well-suited to the large
number of federal employees in the Ottawa-Gatineau region, which is
why Transport Canada got involved, according to Saleem Sattar,
environmental manager, Transport Canada.
Sattar said there are specific filters built in for federal
employees so they can search within their own department, their own
workplace, or in the federal government as a whole.
"One of the main reasons we did that is because a lot of people
feel more comfortable sharing a carpool with another federal
employee as opposed to a stranger in another workplace or sector,"
he said.
Commuters can register with their work email or a regular email,
according to Streicher. Using a work email is a measure which
ensures that people searching within their workplace are getting
matched with people who actually work there.
"Of prime importance to us is people's personal security this is
something like a public notice board where you might look for a
ride," he said. "But the information you put into the system is
secure, and it's not shared with others, other then your first name
and email address, then it's up to you to work out the
details."
Ottawaridematch.com matches people based on close origin and
destination points, similar working hours and compatible carpooling
preferences. Its default search is within two kilometers from where
the commuter lives or works, or two kilometers along the route they
take to work route, but parameters can be changed to suit user
preferences.
Streicher said the site is part of the City of Ottawa's
TravelWise initiative, and is an alternative to driving alone the
city is presenting to commuters.
The site had its official launch Friday, May, 26 and by the
morning of Tuesday, May, 31 there were 130 registered members,
according to Streicher.
He said that is "pretty good" for a short time span and the city
is continuing to expand advertising for the site with radio ads
which just began airing and bus ads coming soon.
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