Carpool – the new cool

Save money, reduce your stress and help to ease congestion on Auckland’s roads by taking part in the first national Kiwi Carpool Week from June 10-16.

Auckland Transport is encouraging commuters to register at www.letscarpool.govt.nz and join 7000 other New Zealanders in a bid to change the way we think about our daily travel. Kiwi carpool ambassadors have been about in the CBD offering advice on carpooling and helping with new registrations.

The site, which was officially launched last year, is a free secure service to help individuals find a carpool match for their regular commute, one-off trips and inter-regional trips. Kiwi Carpool Week aims to raise awareness of carpooling throughout the country by encouraging people to ‘give it a go’ and explore the benefits.

Auckland Transport’s Community Transport Manager Matthew Rednall says more than 1800 Aucklanders have joined the site since it launched, bringing the total number of registrations in the region to approximately 3390.

“The inaugural carpooling week will capitalise on the success of the existing site and provide a fantastic gateway for other regions in New Zealand looking to join,” says Mr Rednall. Kiwi Carpool partners currently include Wellington, Waikato, Taranaki, Bay of Plenty, Manawatu/Wanganui and Nelson/Tasman.

“The goal is to increase awareness and understanding of the benefits of carpooling as a viable form of transport. As more people choose carpooling as their preferred transport option, we expect to see easier matches, increased usage and a subsequent decrease in both congestion and single-occupancy trips.”

The site includes features such as email alerts which will allow users to sign up for automatic updates on new carpool matches.

Let’s Carpool users can use the savings calculator on the site to work out how much they are saving by sharing their ride with others and link their carpool profile to their Facebook or Twitter account. Anyone registering on the site for the first time or recording details of their trip during the promotional week will go into a draw to win Westfield and iTunes vouchers.

ENDS

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