The partnership will improve the collaboration between school districts and planning agencies to reduce traffic and improve transportation demand management outcomes.
SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 29, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- RideAmigos Commute Hub, the platform powering data-driven transportation demand management programs across the country, today announced the launch of a partnership with the leading school carpool program, GoKid. The partnership between GoKid and RideAmigos will empower transportation agencies to connect to a powerful school carpool management program, measure the impact of school carpooling, effectively incentivize carpooling, and track program performance.
According to a 2022 National Household Travel Survey, over half of U.S. students get to school by car, contributing to 10-14% of morning car trips, as reported by Safe Routes to School. Further exacerbated by a national school bus driver shortage, the situation means morning and afternoon traffic jams, increased collision risk, and high local emissions linked to chronic health conditions. In order to expand their impact, a growing number of regional transportation demand management (TDM) programs are investing in tools aimed specifically at helping school districts, charter schools, and private schools reduce private vehicle school traffic.
GoKid currently contracts directly with school districts and independent schools to provide a secure platform for school parents to find, set up, and manage carpools with other nearby parents. GoKid tracks vehicle miles saved, time saved, greenhouse gas reduced, and carpool trips taken. The partnership with RideAmigos is an opportunity to link regional and school district traffic reduction efforts to decrease the number of cars on the road.
Planning agencies using RideAmigos Commute Hub will be able to reduce sizable school traffic in collaboration with schools and districts, adding GoKid carpool data into their reporting tools to incentivize school carpooling and track program performance.
"The impact of daily individual school transportation on overall congestion and regional mobility can't be understated," said Soren Eilertsen, CEO at RideAmigos. "We are proud to offer our state and regional agency partners another data-driven way to connect school traffic reduction with their broader regional modeshift programs through our partnership with GoKid."
"The reduction of school buses due to budget cuts and the bus driver shortage is increasing pressure on communities to offer an alternative transportation solution to students," said Stefanie Lemke, CEO at GoKid. "We are excited to partner with RideAmigos to offer our GoKid Connect carpool program to schools and districts in regions implementing RideAmigos' data-driven transportation demand management programs."
The launch of the new partnership between RideAmigos and GoKid comes at a time when traffic across the country is beginning to exceed pre-pandemic levels—in part resulting from decreases in the use or availability of school busses—and regional agencies are looking for more ways to empower and incentivize families to share rides.
To learn more about combining forces with RideAmigos and GoKid, visit www.gokid.mobi/schools or rideamigos.com/gokid.
Media Contact
Kathryn Hagerman Medina, RideAmigos, 1 312-402-0004, kathryn@rideamigos.com, https://rideamigos.com
Felice Wilson, GoKid, felice@gokid.mobi, www.gokid.mobi
SOURCE RideAmigos
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