Events Calendar
In This Section
Toyota recalls Prius, hybrids over glitch in brake software
Google lowers fee for breaking phone contract
Texas company buys vast gas resources
Buffett joins with Paulson in predicting big payback
Local families get helping hand
EU's decision to assist Greece gives Dow boost
Google e-mail service to add features for social networking
Most Read Stories
Man robbed at Tallmadge Avenue eatery
Another winter punch heading toward Ohio
Four teens restrain man, take items from his Akron home
Complaints against officer keep coming
Police: Ohio girl dies after fall into snow bank
Region makes way for latest batch of snow; cancellations rise
Cuyahoga Falls residents come home to find burning couch on balcony
Blogs:
First Bell - On Education:
No City of Akron basketball tonight
Pets:
Pet telethon re-airs
The Heldenfiles:
Chipmunks "Squeakquel" on DVD/BD March 30
Akron Zips:
Late surge gives Zips ugly road win
Tribe Matters:
Blogmail response on Hafner
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth's contract terminated
Balanced Ledger:
QB in Browns future: another mock draft
Kent State Sports:
KSU Notes – February 9
Cleveland Cavaliers:
NBA Power Rankings from Around the Internet
Buckeye Blogging:
Buckeyes grab 18 players on signing day
Varsity Letters:
Garfield at Buchtel basketball
All Da King's Men:
Palin At The Tea Party Convention
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Republican Pre-Conditions
Akron Law Café:
Citizens United v. F.E.C. (Part 4): Kennedy's and O'Connor's Basic Approaches to Constitutional Decisionmaking – Top Down and Bottom Up
Car Chase:
Collector Car Hobby Loses One of the Best—Jim Roll
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Decisions Decisions: Credit Cards or Your Mortgage?
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Loucile is looking for a Lake Erie getaway in June for three kids, ages 1, 3, and 5.
Sound Check:
Talk of the Town – Top entertainment picks for the weekend
HRLite House:
Track HR Research
Akron Gamer:
Makers of 'Castle Crashers' unveil 'BattleBlock Theater'
See Jane Style:
Do IT this week: Layering
Potential car poolers can arrange to meet
By Betty Lin-Fisher
Beacon Journal business writer
Published on Monday, Oct 06, 2008
Car poolers and interest in car pooling seem to have increased in the Akron area as the price of gas has gone up.
A cooperative of transportation and environment planning organizations runs a Web site on which people interested in car pooling, or even people without cars interested in paying to grab a ride with someone, can get connected.
At Ohio Ride Share, http://www.ohiorideshare.com, potential car poolers can register for free, put in their starting and ending points and find potential matches, said Curtis Baker, Ohio Ride Share spokesman. For privacy reasons, people are only given the first name of potential car pool matches and can send a message via the Web site for that person to see. Then the two can connect with each other and find out if a car pool would work, he said. People without Internet access can register by phone at 800-825-7123.
People can use their home addresses, or meet up at a parking lot of a nearby business. Car poolers can work out their own logistics, said Baker, who is a planner for the Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study.
The service has seen a marked increase since gas prices started rising, and especially since this summer, Baker said.
For Summit and Portage counties, which AMATS covers for the Web site, there were about 20
registered participants in January 2007 when the site first started. This summer, it was 300 and now there are about 650 active car poolers in the two counties, Baker said. He estimates there are probably 2,000 car poolers in Northeast Ohio through the site.
The pinch in the wallet has probably been the biggest motivation for car poolers, though there are some who are environmentally conscious and want to reduce their ''carbon footprint'' by driving less, he said.
Baker said it's difficult to know exactly how many people are driving in a car pool each day, but ''when you start looking, it seems like you see more cars with two people's heads than one.''
The Ohio Ride Share site allows users to include preferences, like gender or a nonsmoker. The site doesn't share any details besides the person's first name, so once you connect with that person, you'll be able to find out if they work at the same company or somewhere close by.
Baker said often car poolers know each other or work at the same company or nearby. The groups have approached several large, local companies to encourage them to share the site with employees. The group might be able to work with companies individually to create a specific employer database, Baker said.
Safety is always an important issue, Baker said.
Organizers suggest talking on the phone and meeting in a public place before deciding whether to car pool.
Baker said most drivers have gotten used to driving themselves, but with some adjustments, they can save money on gas.
''As gas has gone up, people are starting to realize maybe it's OK if I have to listen to country music in the car for three days a week if I really don't want to,'' Baker said. ''Car pooling isn't for everyone. But I bet there's easily a quarter of the driving population that could make it work if they wanted to do it. We're going after that chunk of people.''
Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at
330-996-3724 or blinfisher@
thebeaconjournal.com.
Car poolers and interest in car pooling seem to have increased in the Akron area as the price of gas has gone up.
Get the full article here.
