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RidePro Helps LA Commuters Weather Transit Strike
Trapeze Solution Helps Thousands Get to and From Work
November 28, 2003 (Toronto, ON) – When a strike by maintenance employees of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) shut down MTA’s bus and rail services, thousands of commuters turned to the regional online ridesharing service.
Ridematch.info, powered by Trapeze RidePro software, allowed commuters in the Los Angeles County area to register online and request matches for carpools, vanpools and park-and-ride lots. The system searches for matches within a given radius of an address or along a defined route. Users can print a list of matches as well as maps and other useful information.
On the first day of the strike, approximately 1,550 visitors to the site requested rideshare matches, a dramatic rise from the 100 requests on a typical day. In the course of the strike there were approximately 24,000 individual visitors. 5,500 of these registered for rideshare matching and 6,679 match lists were generated. Total commuter registration for the service currently stands at more than 380,000. The Trapeze system handled the extra load without error and eliminated the need to hire temporary rideshare service staff.
”Ridematch.info has enabled MTA to help commuters find transportation to work and has helped limit the number of additional single occupant vehicles on the road,” commented Matt Raymond, Chief Communication Officer at MTA. “We are pleased with the performance of the Trapeze system and with its ease of use. It’s simple for commuters to register online, search for matches, and quickly modify their searches to find better results.”
The system also helped employment transportation coordinators (ETCs) at many Los Angeles area companies to arrange travel for employees who normally use MTA’s bus and rail services.
According to Raymond, the online rideshare solution has also reduced call volumes at the call center, which uses the desktop version of Trapeze RidePro. “The diversion of routine requests to the Web enables our customer care representatives to provide better service by spending more time helping people with more complicated requests.”
Ridematch.info is jointly operated by MTA and four other agencies including Riverside County Transportation Commission, San Bernardino Associated Governments, the Ventura County Transportation Commission, and the Orange County Transportation Authority.
About Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority serves as transportation planner and coordinator, designer, builder and operator for one of the country’s largest, most populous counties. More than 9.6 million people – nearly one-third of California’s residents – live, work, and play within its 1,433-square-mile service area. About 500,000 people use Metro Bus or Metro Rail everyday.
About Trapeze
Trapeze delivers innovative software and services to public transit, community, social services, medical and school transportation organizations throughout North America, the United Kingdom and Europe. Trapeze products improve services, increase efficiency and help build better passenger transportation systems.
Media Contact
Trapeze Software
Kim Emmerson
(905) 629-5297
media@trapezesoftware.com
