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Bay Area RIDES Launches Online Commuter-Matching System

The Web-based ride-sharing application should help commuters find car pools, van pools.

SAN FRANCISCO -- RIDES for Bay Area Commuters announced the launch of a customized rideshare-matching system for commuters in the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area.

The Web-based, ride-matching application was customized to include Vanpool registration, said officials from Bay Area RIDES, adding that Vanpool drivers and vehicles can be registered via the system.

In addition, Bay Area RIDES said, the matching tool is protected by SSL for secure transactions.

Officials said end users can perform their own Internet based search for commuters with similar commuting habits because the online tool is end-user focused and does not require any agency intervention.

Bay Area RIDES is using a software package from Logical called "eCommuter," which is currently being used by a range of transportation organizations, such as RideQuest, based in Redmond, Wash.; 1800Commute.org in Sacramento, Calif.; the Anaheim Transportation Network in Anaheim, Calif.; the Regional Public Transportation Authority in Phoenix, Ariz.; King County Metro in Seattle, Wash.; and MetroPool of Stamford, Conn.

"While researching ride-matching systems, we spoke with agencies that were using a variety of products," said Catherine Showalter, executive director, RIDES for Bay Area Commuters. "We chose Logical because the application is Web-based and users get immediate matches. We anticipate the response to the new system will be very positive."

Besides providing the application development for the ride-matching system, the company also provides ongoing hosting, maintenance and management of the application for Bay Area RIDES.