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Why would I want to carpool? Let’s face it -- driving is expensive. Like many commuters, you’ve probably thought about carpooling to work or school but weren’t sure how. With gas and insurance costs rising, carpooling makes more sense than ever before. You’ll see that getting into the Carpool Zone is fast, easy, and will save you money.
I commute from X to Y each day. Can you find me a carpool? This site is designed to empower you to find carpools yourself, through our database. You can enter your commute information into our database by registering on this website. You might get matches with people using their own vehicles, or you might match up with someone who is looking for a ride in your vehicle. By giving you direct control of your own carpool matching, we are able to serve more commuters. Do I have to own a car to participate in Carpool Zone? No. You have the option of requesting to be a passenger only, a driver only or leave it open to either. How do I find the right carpool match? Accurate matching is a snap -- we use precise technology to look for commuters as close to your home and work address as possible. Search options let you decide how flexible you are in terms of distance, driving times, and other preferences. You can also add various personal preferences to assist in your search for the right carpool. These include: will you share driving, smoking or non-smoking, top 40 or classical music, will your carpool be co-ed? What do you mean by “precise technology”? Carpool Zone matches trips by using a system called geocoding which translates a street address into latitude and longitude coordinates. This process allows for the most accurate matching possible. What if I don’t find a match? First, make sure you’ve tried adjusting your search settings. The default setting searches within a relatively close distance from where you live, but this can be increased to expand your match possibilities. On rare occasions, you may not find a match. Just come back and check us out later, Carpool Zone is relatively new and interested carpoolers find us every day! You will receive an email from Carpool Zone when a new match joins. How do I start communicating with my matches? To contact potential carpoolers that appear in "My Matches", click on "Suggest a Carpool" under the match on the left and follow the instructions. Before you send a "suggestion", it is a good idea to look at the maps of their home and work locations and their schedule. If they accept your suggestion, you'll receive an email indicating that they've joined your carpoole and your email addresses will then be shared with each other. You'll also receive tips about the items you need to discuss in order to start carpooling. Suggestions are also the way in which other interested carpoolers contact you. Once you accept their suggestion, you'll be able to contact them over email to discuss the details. Is my information private? We know that your information is very important to you. You can be assured that our database is very secure. While online, you will be identifiable to other users only through a nickname until you’re ready to make contact with your carpool match. Will other users see my name and email address? Other users will never see your name. Your email address is only exchanged with commuters who join your carpool when you or your carpool members send or accept carpool suggestions. Why have I not received a PIN? Try looking in your "junk mail" (or similar) folder as strong spam-filtering may filter out our messages. Consider adding our email address to your "safe" list. Why does the system tell me that my email address must end in a certain email domain i.e. @toronto.ca or @peelregion.ca? Don't worry, you're not required to have a particular type of email address. The system will indicate this if you entered a part of the site which is for a particular workplace. Some employers have their own Carpool Zone. Click on the "Click here to register for free" in the menu bar or "Click HERE to Register on this free public site" on the main page for the public site. Why does the system tell me that my email account is already being used when I try and register? After you sign up at our site, you have to verify your account before using it. The system automatically sends you a verification email with an embedded link. If you have not received the PIN email, it is likely in your "junk mail" (or similar) folder. If you still cannot find the verification email, try clicking on "forgot my pin" and we will resend your PIN information. Can I change my password/PIN? Sorry, no! Our system automatically generates a random PIN for you. This prevents people from re-using a sensitive password (e.g. online banking). Furthermore, a new PIN code is generated automatically every 6 months when you have to re-verify your account -- this makes sure our database stays fresh! But don't worry about forgetting your PIN -- we embed it in every email you receive from our system (a link that you can also use as a bookmark), and you can also have it sent to you by clicking on the convenient link in the menu bar, or here Forgot your PIN? I have a new email address, but the 'my profile' page will not let me update it. Why not? Can you update my profile for me? Every commuter that registers must verify their email address by clicking a link sent to the email address provided. By clicking the emailed link, commuters prove that this is an active email address. This ensures our database only contains accurate email addresses. For this very reason, we cannot change your email address. We ask that you please delete your old profile (from the 'my profile' page) and re-register with your new email address. Why isn't my postal code in your database? Our data is constantly being updated, however we're always a little behind Canada Post! So, in the meantime, please try using an adjacent postal code and let us know about your missing postal code by contacting our support centre through this link Contact Us My postal code does not match your map. Why? Large institutions often process their mail centrally -- in other words, not in the building that you work in! Try using an adjacent postal code from across the street or a nearby area using Canada Post's site at http://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pcl/bin/advanced-e.asp. Also, let us know about it by contacting our support centre through this link Contact Us How do I make changes to my trips? Log-in > Go to "My Trips" > Click "Edit" under "My Trip 1" > Make changes as necessary > and click "Save" Can I meet my carpool at a local mall, transit station/stop, or a carpool lot? Yes. Use the address you would like to start from as your home address when you create or edit your trip. If you would like to meet at a carpool lot, use the "Find nearby carpool lots" button on that page to set your start point. Or, since other users will never see your home address on the site, you can choose to discuss your preferred meeting point with your match when deciding to carpool. I sent a suggestion to someone. Why is the "Inbox" grayed out? Your inbox only becomes accessible when there is something in it! In other words, once the other person responds to your suggestion, then you will be able to access your "Inbox". I have sent suggestions without any replies/results. Am I doing something wrong? No. Unfortunately, some users do not communicate with suggestions that do not interest them. Please consider no response as a decline. I accepted a carpool suggestion. Am I now obligated to carpool with this other commuter? No. By tentatively accepting a carpool suggestion, your email addresses are exchanged so that you are able to discuss your carpool compatibility with your match. If you don't decide to carpool together, go to My Carpools and click "I want to drop out of this carpool". I have accidentally declined a suggestion. Can I get it back? Please contact our support centre through this link Contact Us How do I delete or hide matches that I've looked at and have decided aren't suitable? Currently, there is no way to eliminate matches from your match list. We hope to introduce this feature in a future version. How do I remove/delete people from "My Carpools" list? This option is only available to administration. Should standard requests to the user not work, please contact us at Contact Us What if I am uneasy about carpooling with someone I don't know? Consider the following things that can help you bring comfort to the situation: consider asking for a driver’s extract from Ontario Ministry of Transportation ($15); consider asking for a police check from their local police dept ($25); or consider asking for a confirmation that your matched person is in fact an employee of the organization they indicate they are. What about car insurance? Check your policy if you will be a driver in a carpool. Your insurance rates may rise or fall if you carpool on a regular basis. I'd like to have a poster or brochure to show my co-workers. Where can I get one? Contact our support centre through this link Contact Us and have materials mailed to you. Download a brochure directly from our website at http://smartcommute.ca/smart.php?s_sc=sc_carpool You may also be interested in more information about getting a Carpool Zone for your workplace. |
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