Project proposal: Carpooling 505

Carpooling 505 is a project to share vehicles for trips and journeys, with the major goal of avoiding cars occupied by only one. In general, urban planning in the US makes using a car and other kinds of vehicles a must. Nowadays, there exists a carpooling service endorsed by the City of Albuquerque that is provided by a third-party website, but it is focused only on local trips, and additionally, it is not well promoted, causing a lack of usage.

Our team will design a website using Joomla!, a well-known Open Source Content Management System, that allows users to either offer their vehicles to use with more people, or find people who are willing to share their vehicle for going to work, leisure travels, etc. Social media connections will also be an important part of the project to boost it up, getting as much users as possible.

Albuquerque inhabitants with travelling needs within New Mexico or out of the state could take advantage of this website. Carpooling 505 is an easy way to save money and time, as well as contribute to reducing traffic jams and pollution levels. As this project will be focused not only on workers (which is usually the main target), but also on students or everyone who needs a ride, it will also bring the opportunity to meet new people and create a community of users.

At the beginning, this project will require low investment since we will use Open Source software to build it. Hosting and domain expenses may be paid by Albuquerque government, because Carpooling 505 will be a public service which will contribute to improve citizen’s welfare. Regarding the maintenance of the project, an Open Source user community may support it, extending its features on demand and improving its usability based on users feedback posted either on social networks or a ‘wish list’ phorum.

Be part of carpooling 505 and start saving money and time.