Helping Connect Canadian Commuters
My name is Anne Marie Thornton and my website is www.carpool.ca.
Can a website prevent global warning, save working Canadians money and help us be more environmentally responsible? Carpool.ca proves the answer is "Yes!"
Like most Canadians, I found commuting to work was slow, frustrating and stressful. Seeing long lines of cars with no passengers gave me an idea: why not fill those empty seats with people travelling to and from the same destination at the same time? I teamed up with web developer Salus Systems and together we created North America's first web-enabled rideshare application.
Since we launched the site in 2000, almost 500,000 Canadians have visited Carpool.ca, and we have more than 10,000 members who organize thousands of carpools online. Cities like Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Kelowna and Kamloops, plus dozens of Canadian universities, all use carpool.ca to promote environmentally responsible transportation options.
Finding the right domain name was the key to our success, and Carpool.ca is easy to remember and speaks directly to our Canadian audience. Carpool.ca is featured on highway signs in Calgary, Edmonton, British Columbia's Okanagan region, and on campuses across Canada. People use the site to find convenient carpool partners, protect the environment and save hundreds of dollars annually.
Carpool.ca has been recognized by industry, won BC's prestigious Environment Minister's Award and the Government of Canada's Energy Efficiency Award, but there is still much more work to do. Our goal is to give every Canadian a viable transportation alternative to single-occupant commuting. The .ca domain has helped us carry this environmental message, and we will continue to promote the site, measure the savings and show Canadians how powerful the Internet is when it comes to cleaning up our air and preventing global warming.
Anne Marie Thornton, carpool.ca, Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia
