What a great idea

Two university students in Yarmouth were well employed this summer by Nova Scotia Youth

Conservation to create a carpool matching website. On the website — carpoolyarmouth.freeforums.org — people can look for other drivers interested in sharing a commute. This is an idea that needs to happen in the eastern Valley.

One of the students uses a similar web site while attending Mt. Allison University. It gets him to Moncton when he wants to go. On some university sites the privacy of people is protected – last names and addresses are not displayed and people do not have to provide phone numbers or email addresses when signing up. The University of New Mexico even has a consultant available to assist with alternative ways of getting to campus.

Obviously carpooling is no longer just for the soccer-mom set—we all need to reduce our carbon footprint. Carpooling saves on gas money because the costs are split and it is better for the environment. It is less stressful if you don't have to drive all the time and the ride can even be a pleasantly social time.

My better half has been commuting to Halifax for more than 30 years. He started out riding the good old Dominion Atlantic Railway Dayliner. Then he drove himself. He helped start a co-operative van pool, but the van left at an ungodly early hour. Now he hitches rides when he can.

The drive connections are all word of mouth, which doesn't link people up easily.

If you’ve driven Highway 101 you’ll know how many vehicles have a lone driver at the wheel and a lot of empty seats. And, of course, creating a carpooling service wouldn’t all be Halifax-oriented. Plenty of people work in places toward the western end of the Valley.

Not only universities, but cities in the United States often list six or seven thousand people on their carpooling databases. RideArrangers in Denver, Colorado has sponsored over 80 van pools to aid in commuting. There's also GoLoco.org that uses the matchmaking potential of the internet to simplify carpooling for a price.

The GoLoco.org Web site even allows drivers to screen potential riders by checking the descriptions and photos they have posted, and riders can rate drivers they’ve experienced.

According to an article in the New York Times, participants can even speak to each other via GoLoco, which forwards the calls so that phone numbers need not be revealed.

“We give people as much context as we can — their company, what they look like — then it’s up to you,” said Robin Chase, the chief executive.

Naturally with the population base south of the border, they'd have a lot of this figured out, however, it is high time this area got organized to facilitate more sophisticated carpooling.