Internet-Based Carpool Matching
Vital Statistics
Offset Goal: To reduce 30,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide
Results: 3,075 metric tons carbon dioxide were reduced through CarpoolMatchNW.org
24,882 metric tons carbon dioxide were delivered as replacements tons.
The replacement tons are not included in our portfolio.
Project Type: Transportation Efficiency
Project Lifetime: 10 year project, contract ended after 5 years
Starting Date: May 2001
Ending Date: August 2006
Location: Oregon
Project Partners: City of Portland
Project Description
This was one of the first projects that The Climate Trust funded. It occurred very early in the formation of the greenhouse gas offset market. The Climate Trust contracted with the City of Portland to purchase offsets from an Oregon based project that established and operated an interactive website to help commuters conveniently and easily arrange carpools. The free service,
CarpoolMatchNW.org was designed to save 70,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide over 10 years.
The website was developed by Portland’s Office of Transportation in partnership with nearly 20 other transit agencies, associations, and businesses. During the project’s life, the Portland Transportation Options Division expanded the project to include other Oregon areas, including the Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon.
Users of the site enter their point of origin, destination, and schedule and see a map showing the general location and email addresses of potential riders in their neighborhood. Drivers send e-mail messages to potential riders with whom they would like to carpool or vanpool. Responders provide enough information to form carpools or vanpools. Participants control the amount of personal information to be exchanged. People without internet access can use the system by calling a sponsoring agency such as Tri-Met.
How the project reduces CO2
Carpooling in Portland had been slowly declining for years before project implementation. The project helps drivers form carpools and thereby reduce CO 2 emissions. CarpoolMatchNW.org addresses three barriers to conventional carpool matching programs:
- It is anonymous so that people can feel secure about finding riders
- It is user-driven and eliminates a coordinator to find suitable riders
- It is fast and convenient. People can find other riders in a few days, not in weeks or months
Non-GHG Benefits
- Carpooling reduces congestion, accidents, parking costs and land use, other air pollutants, and fuel expenses
- Universities in the partnering cities can use the service to reduce demand for scarce parking
Additionality Criteria: Why We Were Involved
Without The Climate Trust’s funding, this project would not have been established because none of the existing carpool coordination programs in the Portland area had the funds to launch the project.
Partners
City of PortlandCarpoolMatchNW.orgProject Results
The Climate Trust was excited about the prospect of applying upcoming internet technologies to reduce transportation emissions. Disappointingly, this project did not meet its performance goals - generating only 3,075 metric tons of greenhouse gas offsets. The Climate Trust believes the project did not meet its goals because of difficulties in building the interagency coordination and agreement necessary for successful implementation in its initial years. In addition, as with many initiatives launched in during that time period, a web-based business model proved more challenging than anticipated.
Five years after the project was implemented, the City of Portland and The Climate Trust agreed to exercise a contractual provision which allowed the city to provide replacement offsets in the event the project did not meet its minimum performance goals.
The city provided replacement offsets from two transportation projects: the Eastside Hub project (20,614 metric tons) and the TravelSmart Interstate project (4,268 metric tons). Both projects utilized individualized marketing strategies to reduce vehicle trips and promote alternative methods of transportation. While both are excellent projects, The Climate Trust did not attempt to quantify their results. These replacement offsets are not included in The Climate Trust’s offset portfolio.
By providing the replacement tons, the City of Portland met its contractual obligations to The Climate Trust. That event officially ended this project.
At the end of June 2006, ownership of CarpoolMatchNW.org was transferred from the City of Portland to Metro, a regional governing body concerning land use planning and transportation. The site continues to operate under Metro’s management.
Though this project did not perform to expectations, it did benefit both The Climate Trust and the City of Portland, and both parties learned a great deal from the experience. In the long run, the lessons from this project have enabled the City of Portland to become a leader in sustainability and in measurement technology for vehicle trip reduction programs.
The transportation sector is one of largest sources of human-caused global warming emissions. It also is one of most challenging to mitigate. It is only through the continual development of new GHG reduction technologies and strategies that the global warming threat will be addressed. The Climate Trust will continue to support innovative thinking and projects in the offset market.
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