As persistent traffic congestion continues to exasperate many a driver, two young men have set about creating an online car pooling facility targeting parents of children attending private schools.

In their free time, programmers Shaun Grech, 25, and Kevin Farrugia, 27, put their heads together to come up with Bum a Lift, Malta’s first online car pooling platform.

The website, www.bum-a-lift.com, was first launched last year and the duo are now having talks with a number of private schools to come up with a tailor-made online platform targeting parents.

“Parents are not using public transport as much as they used to,” Mr Grech says. “This leads to heavy traffic heading in the same direction that clogs up the roads because many parents are using their own cars to take their children to school. As a result, trips take longer.”

The formula they have come up with is simple: a considerate driver with empty seats can register a route: Buġibba to San Ġwann, Mondays to Fridays, for instance. Another user can then input his own departure and arrival locations as well as the desired time and the system would match users with potential drivers.

The passengers arrive safely at their destination, leave feedback or recommend the driver and continue along their way. Drivers with better feedback would then get more requests and the cycle repeats itself.

The advantage of the system is that it operates through Facebook, allowing the different users to get in touch with each other prior to hitching a ride.

“Our ultimate goal is to provide a free and readily accessible service for passengers looking for a ride while, at the same time, improving the air quality and minimising CO₂ emissions by reducing traffic congestion.

“There are no financial incentives at the moment but people are realising that it’s better to collaborate and share empty car seats. At the end of the day, everyone will benefit.”

Mr Grech said he gauged the feedback of several parents who dropped off their children in their own cars. “We asked parents if they were comfortable with sending their children with other parents. The response we got was yes, but only if they personally knew the parent. What was interesting was that most of the parents said they would prefer sending their children with fellow parents than using other transport modes. Since a particular parent would also be taking his or her own children to school, other parents would have their minds at rest that the parent would drive responsibly.”

Parents’ biggest concern with car pooling, he notes, is ensuring it is safe and fair. These concerns should be addressed through the duo’s platform.

“Transport Malta was also very receptive to our idea. Our aim is to secure funding to launch a strong marketing campaign to hopefully change the mentality towards car pooling.”