Gas Prices Fuel a Rise in Carpooling

Growth has connection to gas prices

Gas prices are climbing higher and higher every year. The number of daily visitors to eRideShare, a carpool arranging website, has jumped about threefold since February, when gas started to climb from the $3-a-gallon range. A rival site, Carpoolworld.com, had about 4,400 new U.S. registrations in both June and July, compared with about 800 in February.

Although some people turned to these sites long ago to help reduce pollution or take advantage of faster, high-occupancy vehicle lanes that require at least two occupants, the pocketbook has been the largest influencer of all.

Even governments are jumping in. A program run by the Seattle-area King County Metro Transit has been online since 2001, while the Vermont Agency of Transportation wants to start automating by this fall a commuter-matching service it now runs manually by phone.

Delaware 's program Rideshare Delaware coordinates both car pools and van pools with registration by phone or online at www.ridesharedelaware.org.

Carpooling isn't for everyone, though.

There is the downside that you will be at the mercy of someone else's transportation schedule.

Safety also has been a factor. While some of these sites vet the people they allow on, some do not.

But those fears seem to have subsided with the higher gas prices.

Operators of carpooling services say they know of no abductions or other criminal incidents resulting from their matches. They recommend that potential carpoolers speak on the phone first, or perhaps meet in person in a public setting.

It's like online dating, "but you don't have to be as picky" in choosing, said Brian Bass, creator of RideSearch.com.

And many matches wind up being people from the same company, school or community anyway. They may be co-workers on different floors, for instance, discovering their common commuting needs only through the Internet.

Of course there are other variables as well

An NPR listener may shudder at the thought of spending a commute listening to Howard Stern or a fellow passenger yapping on a cell phone. A nonsmoker may want to avoid those who enjoy the occasional smoke.

Music is one of the largest concerns for most people when it comes to a commute.

Perhaps the biggest concern of all is reliability. What happens when the driver you're relying on flakes out, or if you must stay at work late unexpectedly, forcing fellow commuters to leave you behind? Perhaps you have to leave early to take care of a sick child.

But the biggest benefit? Knowing you have to leave the office when your carpool leaves, no matter how long your meeting goes J