Over 500 commuters sign up for Avego in just two weeks!
Building a Real-Time Ridesharing community from zero is no easy task. Sure, most people think the idea is cool, new, innovative and would save time, but, when it comes to them actually having to open the door of their private wheeled sanctuary to another person, or putting enough trust in the system to leave their vehicle at home, the questions begin to roll in.
For two weeks, the WeGo Rideshare Team spoke with employees at the Contra Costa Centre in Walnut Creek, CA and answered all these questions. We know Real-Time Ridesharing isn’t for everyone, but over 500 of the 4,000 employees targeted at the Centre agreed that it may just be the solution they were looking for.
So many times, an introduction to Avego and the WeGo Rideshare Program was answered with, “You know, I used to carpool, but I just can’t anymore. My hours are so unpredictable.” But, Avego is no traditional carpool. No planning days or weeks in advance. No rigid schedule and no commitment to two-way trips. Instead, everything is done in real-time, right when you need it. Right now.
In reality, people who work a set 9 to 5 schedule, Monday through Friday, are the exception today, and traditional carpooling is premised on precisely this rigidity. Its success is hinged upon it. The rigid work day is on a path to extinction and, unless carpooling uses technology like Avego to fast track its evolution, it too will meet its demise.
The Contra Costa Centre Association, where this pilot is located, has received many awards over the years, recognizing its dedication to smart planning, innovative engineering and sustainable development. As an association that is focussed on offering the most innovative alternative travel solutions to the 4000+ workers commuting here, they recognize the need to keep abreast of modernizations and are embracing the WeGo pilot and Avego technology wholeheartedly. A variety of programs including vanpooling, bike-to-work, walk-to-work, bus and BART have already resulted in a 30% reduction in single-occupancy vehicles commuting to the area.
The Avego team will be working with the Contra Costa Centre and the Contra Costa Transportation Authority over the coming months to grow this Centre into a vibrant, active and engaged Real-Time Ridesharing community.
The WeGo Rideshare project in the San Francisco Bay Area is administered by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), and be implemented by Avego Corporation in conjunction with Sonoma County Transportation Authority (SCTA) and Climate Protection Campaign (CPC) in Sonoma County, the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) and the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA).