Carpool matching sites

Casey asked for some carpool matching sites so people can connect with others who live and work near them.

At least two-thirds of all carpools to work are formed by people who already know each other.
This is ideal, because you know if you are suited for each other, and if you live and work near each other.

The only wild card is DO YOU WORK THE SAME HOURS? Either you compromise on this freedom or you look until you find someone who works the same hours.

Many companies offer flex-time, which makes carpooling more challenging, because employees savor the convenience and freedom of coming and going at their whim.

I suggest carpoolers start with baby steps -- and carpool on an agreed schedule one or two days a week.

If you don't know anyone with whom to carpool, find out if you company belongs to a Transportation Management Association -- TMA. Your Human Resources department, landlord, facilities manager or environmental engineers will know the answer. If so, they likely have the most effective conduit to find a carpool.

In Massachusetts, go to http://www.masscommute.com/ -- where the state's dozen or so TMAs are listed. All but one are in Eastern Massachusetts. The one lone wolf TMA is in Amherst, MA. The rest, like mine, the MetroWest/495 TMA, manage the commute in and around Boston. Most regions of the country that have congested corridors have TMAs, even my home state of Delaware. If Delaware can have a TMA, any state can.

To prove my point that TMAs provide the best system to find a carpool, I have found NINE carpool partners through my TMA and ZERO through at least three other carpool matching sites I'm listed on.

The three other carpool matching sites that have resulted in ZERO matches include the statewide ridematching site in Massachusetts, MassRides -- http://www.commute.com/, which I have been listed on for three years; Carpool World, Go Loco, and at least one other one that I forget, because I've found no matches at them. Every once in a while, they all send me notices saying they're still trying to match me up with someone.

The trouble with most of the carpool matching sites is that they're not focused enough. Their territory covers the entire US or other huge regions. Even the statewide ridematching database in Massachusetts, with only 6 million people, is not focused to be effective.

I work at an intersection with nearly 9,000 other people. Do you think that some of them live near me? YES! I found them because the major employers there with more than 1,000 employees -- belong to a TMA and they promote the ridematching database with their employees.

The hurdles to overcome are:
1. Getting people who have been raised in the second half of the 2oth century who are addicted to car ownership, to consider sharing rides regularly. $4/gallon gas is causing some motivation by pain in the wallet;

2. Getting those interested people to sign up for the carpool matching sites;

3. Getting those people to TRY ONE DAY of carpooling. If that doesn't work, to keep looking for the ideal carpool partner. It takes time, but once a match is made, it can be very enjoyable to carpool with others. "Enjoyable" might mean the opportunity to sleep while your carpool partner drives, or talk or read. Every carpool has a different definition of "enjoyable."
I have passed many enjoyable hours in a carpool, shared information and stories, and made friends I never would have otherwise. In addition, I've saved hundreds of dollars by driving alone less and our family has avoided owning an additional vehicle -- which amounts to thousands of dollars a year.

Carpooling takes time, effort and planning. If you start asking around, I bet you can find a carpool. That's the most effective way.