Next Meeting

Falmouth man touts commuter matchups

PubDate = 'July 21, 2008'

FALMOUTH — Think of it as commuter match-making.

Robert Hinrichs, 83, is hoping to battle exploding gas prices by pairing Falmouth commuters based on where they live and work in a program dubbed "Share a Ride."

If successful, Hinrichs estimates the average commuter could save roughly $80 a month on gas.

Hinrichs is chairman of the Energy Conservation Committee of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Club of Cape Cod. While the program is not yet operational, Hinrichs said he hopes his software, which he developed to match interested commuters living within one mile of each other, will be up and running by the end of July.

After users submit some basic information on the program's Web site — including address, work address and the times they go to and depart from work — they are sent an e-mail notifying them of any matches.

At that point, Hinrichs said it is up to individuals to exchange contact information and decide whether to proceed.

"When fuel gets up to $5 a gallon, this will make a big difference for people," Hinrichs said.

Although this program is tailored specifically for Falmouth residents who live and work on the Cape, the idea is not new.

A 2005 article in the San Francisco Chronicle detailed a social experiment involving commuters.

People began gathering at specific places near the highway, where cars would line up to pick them up to drive to work. The program is not sponsored by the state or local government.

A form of carpooling etiquette evolved and came to include rules like: no smoking, no cell phones, the driver chooses the radio station and only the driver can initiate conversation.

Locally, the state Executive Office of Transportation conducts a free commuter matching service called MassRIDES. It operates in an identical manner as Hinrichs' program, except it matches by town whereas "Share a Ride" can pair commuters to within one mile of each other.

There are now 13,000 people in the MassRIDES database and 38 percent of those people have found suitable commuter matches, said Kay Carson, project director for MassRIDES.

In addition to setting up carpools between individual commuters, Carson said the project also teams up people with van rental companies so larger groups can "vanpool" to work.

Of the 61 vanpools currently in operation, at least two take people from the Cape to Boston at a cost of approximately $170 per person, per month, Carson said.

Carson said even though Hinrichs has the best intentions, it is not advisable to have competing services in the same area.

Hinrichs believes his software is superior and more user-friendly, but Carson said the success of these programs hinges on the volume of people who sign up.

"Your technology may be great but if there aren't enough people then it's no good," Carson said. "You really need a critical mass to start to make the matches."