Real-time carpooling system

Abstract

Transportation is a major issue in our world today. Traditional problems of transit, once thought of as a strictly civil engineering difficulty, are increasingly being revisited and recognized as a critical environmental crisis. Transportation accounts for about 29% of all greenhouse gas emissions [1]. There is also a growing awareness of the environmental impact associated with the fabrication of cars, especially from the nickel-metal hydride batteries in more fuel-efficient hybrids. The dominant form of personal transit today is the private passenger car. Very often, these cars are used with only a single rider. An over abundance of cars creates many well-documented problems for urban areas, such as increased traffic, increased pollution, parking congestion, and the need for expensive infrastructure maintenance. The expenses, both environmental and fiscal, of single occupancy vehicles can be reduced dramatically by utilizing the empty seats in these vehicles. Carpooling targets these empty seats: it takes cars off the road reducing traffic and pollution, and may provide an opportunity for social interaction.