Driving Factors behind Successful Carpool Formation and Use

Sustainable transportation options are receiving increasing attention in cities across North America because of rising commute times, fluctuating fuel prices, and increased awareness of the environmental impacts of transportation choices. Carpooling represents one of many possible alternatives to single-occupancy vehicle use for work or school trips. Recent attempts to encourage carpool formation in Canada include web-based applications that facilitate connections between potential carpoolers. One such example is Carpool Zone, a service provided by Smart Commute in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area. The service is coordinated regionally by the Smart Commute Team at Metrolinx (the regional transportation planning authority) and is free and open to the public. Data are used from Smart Commute to investigate the carpool formation and use process. Results from a logistic regression analysis of carpool use suggest that spatial accessibility to matches, household auto ownership, and sociodemographics influence carpooling more than do proximity to carpool infrastructure and personal attitudes (e.g., concern for the environment, cost). With respect to policy and planning, results suggest that increasing shared knowledge about commuting patterns at the home end of work trips could yield beneficial returns to the carpool formation and use process.