Have you ever wanted to carpool to work but didn’t know how to go about finding someone to ride with? Turns out, there’s an app for that. Scoop, the mobile app with over 50,000 commuters on board, recently launched in our area and is changing the future of carpooling and helping reduce traffic congestion. Read on for more information about Scoop and their local efforts.

1. What is Scoop? How does it work? How is it different from Lyft and Uber?

Co-founded by brothers and tech entrepreneurs Rob and Jon Sadow in 2015, Scoop’s goal is to end traffic congestion by turning single-occupant vehicles into efficient carpools. Specializing in longer distance (10+ miles) commutes, Scoop is playing a hand in reducing traffic on some of the Bay Area’s most congested highways.

Scoop helps commuters save time, money, and the environment through easy carpooling. Scoop matches coworkers and neighbors in dynamically generated carpools during the morning and evening commute hours. Commuters can use Scoop once a week or every day, or in the morning and not in the evening, never locking them into a fixed carpool schedule.

Once a commuter requests a Scoop trip, the app handles the rest: matching, payment, driving directions, customer support, and a guaranteed ride home for all Scoop commuters. Scoop offers a different experience than ride hailing companies like Lyft and Uber. It provides a true carpooling option, where riders realize a 30 percent cost savings and drivers receive 50-100 percent cost reimbursement compared to driving alone.

2. How is Scoop alleviating traffic congestion in the Bay Area and Fremont?

Scoop alleviates traffic congestion by providing an efficient and reliable mode of transportation forits growing community — now more than 50,000 commuters strong! Every day, Scoop removes thousands of vehicles from the Bay Area’s highways, streets, and employer parking lots — and saves commuters time and money by making carpooling easy. In the past year alone, Scoop commuters have completed 250,000 trips and eliminated more than 100,000 cars from local roadways.

Scoop launched in Fremont in September 2016. Since its launch, more than 600 Fremont residents have signed up for Scoop. Additionally, Scoop has partnered with local companies such as Tesla, ThermoFisher, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and others to encourage employee carpooling.

3. How can employees and employers sign up for Scoop?

Visit www.takescoop.com and download the Scoop app (Android or iOS). All Scoop trips are door-to-door: simply provide where you’re coming from and going to, select if you want to be a rider or driver, and select the time that you’d like to depart. Scoop runs a matching algorithm to find the most efficient, enjoyable carpool for you.

For employers, Scoop’s business team provides marketing materials and incentive programs to encourage carpooling, and monthly analytics to demonstrate the impact of employee trips. Interested in Scoop for your company? Reach out to Tim Lyons at tim@takescoop.com

4. Can you be a non-affiliated employee without a member company?

Yes! Scoop is an open app on iOS and Android. Any commuter can use Scoop — go ahead and download Scoop to schedule your first trip.

5. What is Scoop’s vision for the future of connected/mobile car services?

For too many of us, the worst part of the day is the time and money spent commuting. In many Bay Area cities, 80 percent of commuters drive alone to and from work! At Scoop, our mission is to eliminate traffic and reimagine transportation, giving life back to commuters and communities.

In the future, we see a new ecosystem of sustainable transportation that leverages technology to present carpooling as an easy and default choice for commuters. To truly make a difference, Scoop needs the collective action of communities, the support of cities and employers, and a critical mass of commuters to join Scoop and fight traffic together.