000 members a quarter of which has a car

Paralysis of the European sky makes the happiness of alternative transportation. "In the days that followed the blocking of airports, the visitation of our site has more than doubled," explains Frédéric Mazzella, founder of the carpool service. Fr. created in 2004, ten years after the associative pioneers born of the great strikes of 1995, this server is now 85 of ads left by drivers who want to share their vehicle journey time. The Comuto company that publishes it claims 520.000 members, a quarter of which has a car. Every day, 30,000 passengers consult its offers for a driver, and 27 do so in a few clicks. In March, the company put in relation to 250,000 supporters carpooling.

A handful of companies seized of the matter in France, each testing a different model of organization: society of computer service, service provider or intermediary contact. Comuto has made the choice of free and ergonomics for the consumer market. "Our approach is that of a Community dimension travel search engine, explained Frédéric Mazzella." We do not establish that relationship. We seek to build a network of confidence around services with high added value: members rating system, preservation of information, confidentiality of personal data...

All economies

The company derives its revenues for marketing and to update its platform distributed in white mark to communities and businesses. IKEA, RATP, Vinci Park, Castorama include past conquests of a portfolio with more than 60 customers, mostly large accounts.

With nearly 200 similar platforms marketed by four companies (Ecolutis, the Green wheel, Green Cove and Comuto), the France keep down on the Germany on this new market, which has nearly 3 million regular users German. "These are the financial savings and ease of use, far ahead of environmental consciousness, which are responsible for this rise," analysis Mylène Laroche, Director of the association password-Me take, which argues for several years to companies and communities against "false alibis which hamper the development of this mode of transportation. At the top of the arguments to the disadvantage of the car, according to a study conducted in December by the Maif, time constraints are the main drawback cited by those who have never practised it. Following the lack of flexibility on the route (22), the promiscuous with a stranger (20) and planning constraints (13).

Conversely, economic benefits are the primary motivation advanced, as well for those who already practise (72) than for other (84). Discuss during the journey is the another sought intent by one third of the passengers and driver, on a par with the search for an ecological Act. "Logic", Marie Martèse, who created the Green wheel three years ago based on Google Maps geolocation service, then revolutionary analysis: "commuting between home and work are the primary source of household cost after housing." Crisis and skyrocketing oil prices, share the costs to several became obvious. With just eight employees, the wheel green claims about 50 projects on behalf of companies (Casino, Alcatel, Thales, etc.) and communities such as the Grand Lyon (read below). "Our company is part of a current activist in the fringe between ecology and transport, says Marie Martèse." We seek to build, it is a system that encourages a better occupancy rate of vehicles, including at the commuter routes between home and work, that languished for thirty-five years to 1.32. This means that 10 cars carry only 13 people. It is absurd!

Special parking

In organizing the relationship of the passengers and drivers development, specialized companies feel able to increase the natural rate of car (estimated at 3) of at least 10. "The number of registrants on a platform dependent on geographic scale that: more plays the proximity, more you touch users", explains Arnaud Sarfati, President of Green Cove engineering, which operates the 123envoiture site. com "can expect 5 of users across a Department, finds, 10 to 15 of a commune, and up to 30 if the framework for action is limited to the company.". But other factors influence the success of carpooling, as put parking lots available to materialize around areas of Exchange service. The France to count approximately 300, mainly installed at the crossing of the main roads, as in Finistère where the General Council has created 30 parking areas related to the carpooling - finistere .fr site.

Last year, Green Cove lifted the SNCF and Norauto EUR 1 million. With the rail operator to its capital, the company wants to use carpooling as a tool for touting to the stations. In Ile-de-France, a service has to be put in place to serve the 350 cases of the network according. A month after the start of the operation, a dozen trips are offered on each site. The operator has made its calculations: three daily covoiturages by station only avoid a thousand vehicles on the roads, is 6 km from caps and 3,000 tonnes of CO2. Service operators, it is a market that opens. With growth above the 50 per year since its inception in 2003, Green Cove reached last year to 600,000 euros of turnover. With 2,600 intercommunalités in France, all undertakings with more than 500 employees and 3.200 activities to equip, parks company plans to expand its activity by 10 by 2015.