In spite of efforts to wean Torontonians from driving their vehicles to work and using the public transit system instead, Statistics Canada reports that in the past 5 years only 216,000 (½ of 1%) commuters in all of Canada have been converted. In the GTA public transit use actually declined slightly (less than ½ of 1%) in 2006, while in the municipalities bordering Toronto there was an increase of public transit usage of 1%. However there has been an increase of 1% in the number of people who now travel as passengers in a vehicle. Canadians prefer to carpool than to use public transit. In Toronto:

• There are 2.4 million commuters
• The average commuting distance is 9.4 kms
• 74% of commuters travel in a vehicle – either as a driver or as a passenger
• 22% of commuters use public transit

One of the major issues facing commuters living in the suburbs is the increase in time and money once you have to transfer from one public transit system to another. Clearly public transit is not serving the public and it is forcing them to continue commuting in their cars. Hence, the increased interest in carpooling. With carpool lanes on many roads, the drive can be quite time effective.

Carpool Zone is a carpool matching service. It is free to use and is for regular commuters only, not just for the occasional trip. There are currently 5,000 registered users, with more signing on every day. If you are interested in learning more about it follow the link below.

http://www.carpoolzone.smartcommute.ca/en/my/