I have been trying to bring back SF casual carpool since it ended with the pandemic. Here are some of the things I/we have done, roughly in order. Roughly between September 2022 - August 2023.

Things I have tried

• Waiting at the North Berkeley passenger line daily, using both sfcarpool.app and the RapidCarpool app
  • I have done this for close to a year, waiting 20 minutes a day. I get picked up around once a month.
• Created SFcarpool.app for helping people coordinate carpools
• Reach out to existing carpool web sites
• Handing out flyers at North Berkeley BART
  • This suggested with coordinated start date. BART riders showed interest, but there was no uptick in carpooling. I did this for about a month in late 2022.
• Created outreach survey
• Created a Facebook group
• Post to other social media, like Reddit and Nextdoor.
• News outlet outreach
  • I reached out to reporters who wrote about carpool in the last couple years. At KQED, Berkeleyside, Chronicle
• Reached out to the city of Berkeley to talk about help/solutions. No responses.
• Reached out to the city of Oakland to talk about help/solutions. No responses.
• TV interview on ABC 7
• Reached out to officials at MTC and SFMTA to see if we can get historical data for bridge exits to see if there has been a dip in exits at carpool drop sites. No response.
• MTC blog post
• KQED interview (recording forthcoming)

Things I have not yet tried

• Op-ed. It has been suggested I submit one to the Chronicle. And/or The East Bay Times, Berkeleyside, Daily Cal, Radio Perspective (KQED Radio)
• Bay Curious podcast