With the price of gas exceeding $4/gallon, the practice of carpooling is becoming more and more common. Newspapers and magazines are full of articles about ? and radio and television stations are full of advertisements and other discussions of ? the advantages of carpooling to commuters. Much less has been written and said about the advantages of carpooling to employers. Those advantages include the ability to hire workers over a wider geographical area, more relaxed and rested employees, and less demand for parking. Workers consider many factors when choosing a job, including commuting time and expense. Sharing the daily commute with one or more fellow employees drastically reduces commuting expenses. While commuting time may not change, riders who were previously driving alone can now use their commutes to get some extra sleep, work, catch up on their reading, or just relax and listen to music.

Riders have less stress than if they were driving alone because they no longer have to fight the traffic and remain alert throughout their daily commute. The fact that they are saving money also helps reduce stress. There are always exceptions, but more relaxed workers tend to be more productive and get along better with coworkers. Many employers provide parking for their workers. In large cities, this can be a very expensive prospect. Daily parking can exceed $40/day in some instances. Building a parking deck can cost tens of thousands of dollars per parking space. Larger parking areas result in longer walks to the office or plant. While the longer walk may be healthy on most days, that is of little comfort when it is -20? or 100?, pouring rain, or icy. A slip on an icy spot can undo the benefits of the extra walking in an instant.

Knowing the advantages, what can an employer do to promote carpooling? There are many carpooling Web sites ? some would even say too many. To make carpool matches more likely, it is important that as many workers in an area as possible register on the same website(s). The employer can help by suggesting a website or websites for its workers to use.

Two recently launched websites that complement each other are MyCasualCarpool.com and RideshareOptimizer.com. MyCasualCarpool.com allows users to find and obtain permission to use parking lots as park and ride commuter lots, and then propose the lots to others with similar commutes. Houses of worship are perfect candidates for such commuter lots because they are in virtually every community and often not used much during normal working hours. This system is particular advantageous to those living in high density residential areas from which many commuters are traveling to the same employer or employers very close to each other such as in a downtown area.

RideshareOptimizer.com helps commuters ? and those making unique trips ? to find their most efficient rideshare partners. It accomplishes this by searching among riders and drivers with similar schedules and commutes, and determining which combinations result in the least additional driving. This system is better for those who may live in less densely populated areas and who are looking for permanent carpool partners. It not only matches riders close to drivers, but also riders along the way who require little detour from drivers? direct commutes.