A federal public servant has developed a matchmaking website for government workers looking to find others to carpool with. With public servants spending more days in office, many are trying to find the right solution to getting to and from their jobs. Pierre-Paul Roy has created iHopOn, a free carpooling website just for public servants. “We’re thousands on the road doing the same commute every day,” Roy told CTV News Ottawa. Many are driving individual cars, paying for gas and competing for the same parking spots. “You’re not just carpooling with anybody in the area, you’re carpooling with fellow colleagues that have the same issues,” Roy said. Roy says users will verify themselves with a government work e-mail and the system will calculate an “overall fit” percentage based on the area they live, where they work and days in the office. “For me it was more of, there must be a better way. And I’m not the only one that’s facing this challenge. Right?” Sharing the driving can also mean less wear-and-tear on your vehicle, saving on the increasing cost of vehicle maintenance, “Over the past three years, the cost of car repairs has increased twice the rate of inflation. That means that people are actually delaying getting their cars repaired,” says Julie Beun, managing director of communications and public relations at CAA North and East Ontario. According to a statement from the City of Ottawa, traffic count stations found that vehicle traffic was approximately 11 per cent higher between Sept. 7 to Sept. 18 than between Aug. 24 to Sept. 4. “When comparing morning and evening peak traffic periods during the same timeframe, morning peak traffic increased by 10 percent and afternoon peak traffic increased by three percent,” the Krista Tanka, the city’s director of traffic services, said. “To help keep traffic moving, the City continues to monitor conditions, adjust traffic signal timing as conditions change, coordinate construction activities and quickly respond to incidents.” Some public servants, like Bob Piromnam, who commutes from west Ottawa, are fortunate enough to find a carpool partner on their own. “I was lucky enough to talk to my neighbor. He also works downtown. I carpool with my wife as well. She worked downtown,” says Piromnam. Roy says the website automates the process for those who aren’t as fortunate. “It’s an easier way to get introduced to other car poolers,” he says. Roy says the website has been live for two weeks, and already has about 750 subscribers, with about 500 verified public servants matching and more than a dozen car pool trips.
