New Rideshare app looks to connect commuters

An improvement and expansion to London's Rideshare Program is hoping to get the entire region on board to improve our carpooling habits.

"In rural communities, lack of public transportation has been identified as an issue to recruiting labour," says Perth Warden Bob Wilhelm.

On Friday, all the wardens of the region's counties gathered to unveil the expanded Rideshare Program, which is aimed at getting more people in fewer cars.

"Use of the program is really a function of how many people are on, and how much [there's] awareness of it. By going into a regional mode it allows that opportunity to make sure it's more top of mind. Not only for residents, but also for employers," says Jay Stanford, City of London.

Targeting employers is a key part of the program to get them on board and get the info out as well, especially for those who are commuting in from the county.

"For Middlesex County, we're the horseshoe around London, so it was important for us to be a part of the program. We didn't want to be left out. So we offered it to our residents at little cost to the county, and no cost to our users," says Chris Traini of Middlesex County.

When you start talking about websites and apps that are geared towards transit, one may think of Uber.

"This is not even close to Uber, this is a ride-match program. This would be two people in a similar neighbourhood, heading to a similar location for work. And now they get to match up becuase they had no idea they were living that close to one another," says Stanford.

The expanded program launched Friday.