Carma has been in the states for a few years now, with carpools booming in the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington, D.C.. Now we are thrilled to announce our latest addition to the map – Austin, Texas!
So, what makes Austin such a good destination for the carpooling movement? Well first we have to mention all the reasons we love this town – live music on every corner, plenty of swimming holes and running trails, the University of Texas (go Longhorns!), festivals and events almost every weekend, amazing food, nightlife that’s always bustling, and of course the people. Austinites are fun-loving, progressive, creative, green-minded, super-friendly, and ambitious. Thanks to all of the above, hundreds of people are moving to Austin every single day – making it the fastest growing city in the U.S.
Here comes the transportation challenge (or opportunity as we call it). With the population increasing and the housing and commercial development industry booming, the city is working fast to make highways and roads more efficient, implement more high-speed mass transit options, and develop infrastructure for other alternative modes of transportation like biking and carpooling. These projects all take time, but carpooling is something that will make everyone’s commute easier instantly.
Carma has been invited to run a real-time carpooling program here thanks to a partnership with federal, state, and local transportation organizations. We’ll be testing the benefits of real-time carpooling, and how it affects travel behavior and traffic congestion. Our local program will be officially launching this coming January, but we’re already working on building the community. Carma is a network built by local drivers, a sharing economy that puts empty seats to good use – so if you’re interested in being one of our first ambassadors in Austin, we want to hear from you. Just email us at austin@car.ma, or follow us at @CarmaATX to hear the latest updates. Let’s share some rides!
Lauren @ Team Carma