The San Francisco Bay Area is to be the location for largest Real-Time Ridesharing pilot to-date. The “WeGo Rideshare” pilot will cover areas in both the North Bay and East Bay, and begins its staggered roll-out on Earth Day, April 22nd, in Sonoma County.

The purpose of pilots is to explore under what conditions Real-Time Ridesharing (RTR) is most likely to thrive in real-world conditions.  For these pilots, San Francisco’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) wanted to test a number of different commute concerns through Avego Real-Time Ridesharing technology across three counties. Among these concerns are the “last mile” issue and overcrowded parking at BART stations in Contra Costa County and communities losing bus services in Marin County.

First, however, WeGo will target thousands of commuters traveling north on Highway 101 between Petaluma and Santa Rosa where limited bus services are available. The newly constructed HOV/carpool lanes in Sonoma County will allow WeGo rideshares to bypass gridlock, shaving valuable time off their commute. The WeGo rewards scheme for Sonoma County will be announced in the coming weeks, so keep an eye on www.wegoridesharing.com for details.

Throughout the pilot, Avego will be introducing new features for both riders and drivers in response to the particular needs of Bay area commuters, such as increased opportunities to use the Avego “walk-up” PIN to simulate slugging, which is already successful in the Bay Area (where it is known as “casual carpooling”).

A five-week beta testing phase will begin in Sonoma County on March 22nd. If you commute north on Highway 101 please send your details by email to teresa.gaynor@avego.com with the subject “Sonoma Beta” to become part of a pioneering community. There will be fun prizes and rewards for those involved, so get your name in early.

The WeGo project, administered by the MTC, will be implemented by Avego in conjunction with Sonoma County Transportation Authority (SCTA) and Climate Protection Campaign (CPC) in Sonoma County, Transportation Authority of Marin (MTC) and Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA).

In a major indication that Real-time Ridesharing (RTR) is becoming a new, mainstream mode of transport, several government agencies in California have chosen to pilot Avego’s ridesharing technology. Administered by Caltrans in Santa Barbara and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) in Sonoma, Contra Costa and Marin Counties, these projects will represent the largest RTR implementations to-date.

Although it’s still early days for RTR, it has already created significant buzz during the first large-scale deployment in Seattle, Washington. Avego was chosen for the go520 project by the Washington State Department of Transport (WSDOT). The aim of this pilot was to measure the impact of RTR on some 190,000 commuters, who are faced with severe congestion across the SR-520 bridge daily.

From mid-2012 the California projects will allow drivers using Avego technology to save money by sharing empty seats in their cars and riders to cut their commute headache by leaving their cars at home and booking a seat to work from their computer or smartphone. The long-term goal of RTR, shared by Avego and its partners, is to curb the number of Single Occupancy Vehicle (SOV) trips, reduce traffic congestion and ultimately cut GHG emissions, while providing a flexible, convenient transport alternative to commuters.

In Contra Costa, Sonoma and Marin Counties the RTR projects will investigate the impact of RTR on a variety of transport issues, including insufficient parking at BART stations, traffic issues on Highway 101 and the reduction of transit services in certain communities.

In the Santa Barbara area, the Community Environmental Council (CEC) hopes the commute alternative provided by RTR will help to solve a number of issues, such as over-crowding on busses to and from Isla Vista and major parking problems in the area. Each of these projects will be rolled out during 2012.

Santa Rosa, CA— A new tool will soon be available for Sonoma County commuters looking to beat traffic, save money, and reduce their carbon footprint. On Earth Day, the Sonoma County Transportation Authority (SCTA) invites the public to participate. WeGo Sonoma is building a social network for real-time ridesharing in Sonoma County, using software and a smartphone app to allow riders and drivers to match instantly and carpool with other commuters on their route.

In its initial phase, the program is focusing on attracting drivers and riders traveling along the 101 Petaluma to Santa Rosa corridor. After that route is established, the program will expand to other routes throughout Sonoma County and the larger San Francisco Bay Area.

“This is a new and positive solution we can provide to people on tight budgets as gas prices remain high,” said Supervisor Valerie Brown, Chair of the SCTA. “We can get more out of our existing highway lanes if we help people drive together.”

Sonoma County and the City of Santa Rosa are primary partners as the program goes live on Earth Day. Both are actively encouraging their employees to participate. Many local businesses, including Medtronic, are also helping to spread the word.

WeGo Sonoma is also working collaboratively with Santa Rosa Junior College, as one of the options for SRJC’s alternative transportation program, WeGo Sonoma service will be available to students and employees this Fall. WeGo Sonoma program managers are working with other Sonoma County businesses and educational institutions to announce their participation in the project soon.The software powering WeGo Sonoma was developed by the Avego Corporation. A small group of commuter beta testers have been using the software in advance of today’s public launch of the initial Highway 101 corridor between Petaluma and Santa Rosa.

“WeGo Sonoma provides a new alternative for everyone driving who has extra space in their vehicle. The application is easy to use – simply create your profile, be a driver or find riders,” said Sonoma County employee Scott Hadley, one of the beta participants. “I look forward to using WeGo Sonoma so I can use the carpool pool lane on my commute to work. Any time we can reduce pollution and get a car off the road, we should do it.”

This project is made possible by a grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Climate Initiative Grant Program. The Transportation Authority of Marin and Contra Costa Transportation Authority are also partners in this three␣county effort. The project is expected to take two years to complete. The Climate Protection Campaign is managing the Sonoma County portion.

“WeGo Sonoma, powered by Avego software, allows commuters with a mobile phone to share a ride whenever they like, without committing to a fixed carpool – saving time and money, and doing our part to save the planet one seat at a time,” said Avego’s Paul Steinberg.

“Sonoma County has been following a Climate Action Plan for several years. One of the key goals of the Plan has been reducing employee commute impacts on our environment,” said Shirlee Zane, Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman. “Along with our bus transit program, preferential commute parking, and bike to work efforts, WeGo Sonoma is one more best practice in our Energy and Sustainability efforts.”

Sonoma County commuters traveling the 101 corridor from Petaluma to Santa Rosa are now encouraged to sign-up and begin ridesharing using WeGo Sonoma at WeGoSonoma.com. As an incentive during the launch period, a guaranteed ride service will be provided for commuters traveling 101 N in the mornings and 101 S in the evenings as a backup to shared rides.

“It is exciting to be rolling out the largest real-time ridesharing pilot program in the world, beginning in Sonoma County,” said Brant Arthur, Transportation Implementation Manager for the Climate Protection Campaign. “Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector is not easy, and single occupancy vehicles are our biggest challenge. This is an innovative program with huge potential, something that our community can use to make a difference today.”

The technology, called Avego Driver, is available as a free download from the Apple app store or by accessing the WeGo Sonoma website at WeGoSonoma.com. Sonoma County is in the first wave of regions to use this technology, including Santa Barbara CA, Seattle WA, and Northern Virginia.

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Contact:

Brant Arthur, Climate Protection Campaign
(707) 477-9946
brant@climateprotection.org

Paul Steinberg, Avego Corporation
(408) 540-9942
paul.steinberg@avego.com