What’s Your Mode To Go? - Schoolpool

Schoolpool Featured Nationally by Esri

In the Spring 2015, edition of Esri’s State & Local Government publication, Way to Go’s Schoolpool program, a free matching service for schools and parents, is featured as a case study and model for the nation. Esri writes “The new smart-city based approach of combining end-user data with leading-edge mapping and analytical technology to enhance the lives of its citizens has already seen dramatic results for Way to Go Schoolpool in the Denver region.”

Summer vacation is a few months away, but many parents are already thinking about transportation arrangements for the coming school year. If you’re thinking of carpooling, or want to form a walking or biking group, Schoolpool can put you in touch with parents in the same frame of mind. To get started, check to see if your school is participating here. If it’s not, email your school principal requesting the school sign up for Schoolpool, Then, you’ll have the whole summer to get to know the other families wanting to share in the responsibilities of getting the kids to school. By the time the bell rings at summer’s end, you’ll be ready to get the kids there – even if they aren’t ready to go back.

The program has enjoyed growth and success over the past several years by meeting the transportation needs of the fast growing number of students at charter schools. Accompanying this shift in student populations, many school districts are cutting back on school bus services. These two factors helped fuel Schoolpool’s growth last year with more than 16,000 families receiving a personalized match list that identifies nearby families at more than 125 schools. More than 6,000 school-related carpools were formed with an average size of 2.6 families. They operated 4.4 days a week and traveled 7.8 miles (one way) to school.

To find out if your local school participates or for more information on the My Way to Go Schoolpool program please click here.

Click here for the Esri Schoolpool article.