Car pooling service launched in Potenza
A car pooling service has been implemented for more than 1,000 employees of the CIVITAS SMILE partner Regione Basilicata. The organisation has purchased and installed software for managing the demand for car pooling amongst its staff, and a parking area has been reserved for all car poolers. Further incentives for car poolers are under consideration.
Employees already undertook car pooling on an informal basis, amongst friends, relatives and neighbours. However, in order to increase the number of employees sharing the same private car for commuting to work, the Regione decided to procure and install a dedicated management system. From a link to the organisation’s homepage (www.basilicatanet.it) each Regione employee can access the car pooling system and register their details. The system is able to match employees according to their departure site, pick-up and working time, route, sensitivity to environmental issues, and interest in saving petrol and car maintenance costs, and contacts them by e-mail. If members of staff agree to share their home-to-work travel, the system will send them their respective contacts (e-mail address or mobile phone number) and a badge or ticket allowing the car to access to the reserved parking area outside the company. Car pooling can be done on a regular basis and people can also choose to take it in turns to drive their own car.An information campaign has been carried out by distributing a car pooling brochure throughout the organisation. Important results are expected on the long term, due to the current difficulties that Regione employees have in reaching their workplace caused by traffic, the lack of parking areas and the limited access to alternative modes of transport. A similar trial will soon be launched at the Municipality of Potenza.
