In today’s world, staying on top of changing technology and exploiting its use is vital to every business. Instant messaging, blogging, and social networking websites such as Facebook®, LinkedIn® and Twitter® are the communication vehicles of choice for people who want to stay connected in “real-time”. The pen and paper approach to communicating is fading, and customers want on-line tools and automation from the services they use. Our forward-thinking philosophy and leadership will soon bring cutting edge, value-added services to our vanpool customers, our public agency partners and our corporate clients.
To accomplish our objective of assimilating technology into our services, we’ve teamed up with Avego Ltd. to integrate GPS, web and mobile-based technologies thereby enabling and supporting sustainable transportation projects. Our special knowledge of the nation’s vanpooling industry and Avego’s transport-based IT engineering and systems development expertise create a unique skill set that will bring technological advances to vanpooling and carpooling for the next generation of wired commuters.
One of the immediate focuses of this on-going partnership has been the development and deployment of our vRide technology platform, which has just gone live in our Washington DC Customer Service Center.
The heart and soul of our vRide technology platform is a dynamic, self-directed web-based community in which all of the participants in our vanpool program (drivers, riders, potential commuters, employers, local agencies and VPSI) are able to interact.
According to Clark Gross, VPSI’s Vice President of Customer Initiatives, “when gas prices spiked in 2008 to over $4.00 a gallon, more than 5,000 potential commuters (we call them PComs) were registering with us on our website every month, looking to join a vanpool. It gave us a glimpse of future demand and the need to respond in a more rapid and effective manner to these requests! Today, we continue to have over 1,000 PComs register with us each month – so making the experience easier, more self directed and productive was one of our primary goals in developing the new technology platform.”
When accessing our new vRide commuter community, PComs will be presented with an easy-to-view graphic image of the carpool/vanpool network in their area. If they see a pool of interest, registration is required to learn more, but the process is simple. As a registered user, PComs can easily reach out into the community to join an established pool in need of riders, join a pool’s waiting list, or create a new pool. They’ll also have the ability to reach out to friends and associates in their own personal social network to source potential rideshare candidates.
Rico Fleshman – Mid Atlantic Manager, has overseen the launch in DC. “We’re really encouraged by the initial results – especially from our PComs. Over 100 have registered with us in the last 30 days and we’ve seen them use the system exactly as we had hoped! It’s been really rewarding!”
Current plans call for vRide to be rolled out strategically across the country through 2011.
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Correct gas was $4.00/gal. in 2008 but here we are in 2010 still paying for the $4.00 a gallon when the pricing has been reduced to under $3.00/gal.