Pierrefonds-Roxboro just made it easier for residents to catch a carpool ride with the announcement of its participation in The Carpooling Network Monday morning, a website that enables carpoolers to find matches for their specific needs.
"Citizens who will use the carpooling platform will quickly notice how useful this service can be. Not only for their daily transportation in and out of the borough, but also for travels inside Quebec, Canada and the U.S. It is easy to subscribe to the website and it is a free tool. Within a few clicks, you can find drivers and passengers to share your travel," said borough mayor Monique Worth Monday morning at the borough's park-and-ride lot located east of the Pierrefonds fire station.
Pierrefonds-Roxboro becomes the first of nineteen Montreal boroughs to offer the service. The website is a platform that allows drivers or passengers to post their transportation needs anonymously and find matches easily.
The calculation device on the site allows the persons who enter into an agreement to calculate the cost of transportation to be divided by travelers based on the destination and the gas consumption of their vehicle. The calculator alsomeasured the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the travel.
Residents who will use the service will be able to use the new reserved bus, taxi and carpooling lane on St. John's Boulevard and save time while also saving money. The impact on the environment should be positive, said The Carpooling Network co-founder and president Pier-Olivier Girard.
"When we look at the occupation rate of vehicles in the metropolitan area which is around 1.2 people per car, we realize that it is very low. There is a lot of space in these vehicles going towards the downtown area or other locations on the island of Montreal. I think this is a solution that can resolve many problems like greenhouse emissions," he said.
Girard says that commuters in the Montreal region emit up to 2.5 tons of carbon emissions annually driving alone in their cars. Carpooling could reduce this figure by half, he said. He also claims Pierrefonds commuters can save valuable time using the carpooling method.
"With this carpool parking lot right here and the reserved lane on St. John's Boulevard, I think it will help people find out about the advantages of carpooling such as the time they can save. Instead of being stuck into traffic, they can use the reserved lane to go to Highway 40."
People interested in joining The Carpooling Network can register for free at the following address: pfds-rox.carpoolingnetwork.com.
