Okay so it’s no big secret that the idea of a lone commuter travelling to and from work surrounded by empty seats is not practical, nor is it sustainable. People everywhere are coming to this realisation and abandoning their old way of commuting for a faster, cheaper, greener solution.
If you are reading this, the chances are you’re a carpooler or at least considering becoming one. In which case, we want to help you on the road to becoming a seasoned ride-sharer. So, without further delay, we’ve created the Carma top 5 steps to carpooling success!
1. Make some noise
No carpooler is an island! In order to successfully get started, you need to reach out to other people who might share your desire to commute together, or even just people with a similar commute. Often people envision traveling with strangers when they think of carpooling. Although carpooling can be a fantastic way to meet new people and make new friends, very often we find that many people like to develop their own communities whom they travel with on a regular basis. This community is generally made up of colleagues, friends and neighbors.
So in order to get your carpooling community up and off the ground, try reaching out to people. Share the fact that you’re looking to carpool on social media. When you plan your carpool with the Carma app, you can easily share your scheduled trip on Facebook and Twitter in order to let your friends know that you’re looking to share the commute.
Another way to create awareness is with a more ‘grassroots’ approach. Put up a poster at your workplace or in your local cafe to help get the word out there. In short, shout it from the rooftop! There are tons of people around you who are ready and willing to carpool, you just need to reach out to them.
2. Boldly go
We constantly hear from our most active carpoolers that their first trip was a big moment. Let’s face it, reaching out to someone you don’t know and asking to carpool is kind of a big deal if you haven’t done it before. But we find that once people get past that first moment, there’s no stopping them! It normally takes that initial leap of faith to realize how much fun carpooling is and how much it can benefit you and your community.
So if you find your first match in the Carma app and you feel a little unsure about reaching out, grasp the nettle and go for it! Consider it Day One of your new and improved commute routine.
3. It’s nice to be nice
Among the major benefits of carpooling is the fact that it can be a lot quicker and more comfortable than other commuting solutions. It is important, therefore, for us as carpoolers to try and preserve this. It is vital to be punctual, reliable and considerate of your fellow carpoolers.
This feeds into the idea of establishing yourself within a carpooling community as someone who is trustworthy and reliable. By doing this, you are more likely to find other carpoolers to share your commute with in the long term. The Carma app asks you to rate the people that you carpool with at the end of each trip. This gives you the opportunity to show the people around you that you’re a reliable carpooler and this will really help to improve your chances of finding a carpool.
You should also make sure that your Carma schedule is up to date. This will ensure that we can match you with people whose schedules are similar to yours. And of course, adding a profile picture and including a few words about yourself makes all the difference in terms of making people feel comfortable enough to reach out to you.
4. Go with the flow
Carpooling can be a game of give and take. If you’re willing to be flexible, you will find it much easier to find a carpool. Look at the people around you who carpool and see if there is anyone with a similar (if not identical) commute. If so, try and see if you could make this commute work by being a little flexible. This could mean something as simple as walking two blocks to meet that person, or a slight change in work times.
Remember to take into consideration the various commitments you have in your life and, on a weekly basis, try to fit your carpool schedule around your prior arrangements.
5. Baby steps for the win
The world is going to change, but it won’t change overnight. We are all guilty at times of setting ourselves goals which end up falling by the wayside when we realise we can’t achieve them on a regular basis. Carpooling is no different than the other resolutions we set ourselves. If these goals are unrealistic to begin with, ultimately we are setting ourselves up to fail. So instead of starting out by committing to carpool every day of the week, set a goal which is realistic – for example, “I will carpool 2 days a week”. This will allow you to reach your goals and will have a significant impact on you and the world around you.
Baby steps are the key to establishing lasting habits and routine. These small steps will help you to develop a simple and enjoyable carpooling schedule.
To finish…
Finding alternatives to the lone commute is essential in order to reduce traffic congestion and CO2 emissions going forward. If everybody decided to carpool even one day a week, we would immediately see massive changes. The ability to make these changes is in our own hands.
Hopefully these steps will help to get you on the road to regular carpooling. If you have any tips of your own for more productive carpooling, we’d love to hear them – feel free to leave a comment below!