A Mobile and Social Approach to Fostering Casual Carpooling in New Corridors

The technical objective of this Phase I project is to develop concept that demonstrates the viability of one or more tools and/or approaches to catalyze casual carpooling in a corridor where it does not exist or to improve casual carpooling in a corridor where it is present but underperforming. The proposed approach offers four unique components: (1) building off of the existing casual carpooling in the Washington, D.C. area; (2) developing travel behavior models to identify a new corridor and potential station locations where casual carpooling would be a viable alternative for commuters; (3) developing a concept of operations for a mobile application that increasing the real-time situational awareness of users and promotes interest by capitalizing on social networking, if desired by users; and (4) developing a detailed, comprehensive marketing and outreach plan to educate and foster interest amongst commuters, businesses, local/regional/state government agencies, and other stakeholders. Combined, these components will help to catalyze casual carpooling in a new corridor in the Washington, D.C. area. The products of this Phase I effort will afford immediate implementation in Phase II.