COMMUTER COMPUTER IN THE RIDESHARING VANGUARD

Commuter Computer, Southern California's regional ridesharing organization, was organized in 1974 in response to the energy crisis. While initial promotion was with individuals, the emphasis now is on getting the region's private firms and public agencies to set up ridesharing programs for their employees. In its efforts to get commuters to work other than alone, it now promotes not only car and vanpooling, but also public transit, private commuter transit, taxis and Amtrak. Using City of Los Angeles computers, the organization has cut response time from 14 to 5 days and expects to soon be giving immediate match listings from its data base of 350,000 interested in sharing rides regularly or on an emergency basis. Major downtown employers in Los Angeles are biggest users of CC services. For every dollar CC spends, it estimates its ridersharers each save $18.75. Its annual budget is $3.3 million for both public and private sources.