“Rolling into 2012, we at Avego are thrilled at what the year ahead has in store. Looking back, 2011 was a productive year for Avego and for our customers, most notably for Real-Time Ridesharing (RTR). Avego ran RTR pilots in Cork, Ireland; Bergen, Norway; Houston, TX; Arlington, VA; and Seattle, WA in the USA. Supported by the extensive learnings from these pilots, we embark on what we hope will be an even more successful RTR year in 2012.

Throughout 2012, Avego will be building programs to save time, money and the environment in Santa Barbara, the Bay area in California and many more areas, working in concert with local governments, leading employers, and dedicated and passionate individuals who are taking it upon themselves to help pioneer the Real-time Ridesharing in their area.

We have been continuously developing our RTR technology throughout the year, releasing huge new capabilities, such as taking Avego RTR multiplatform by offering an app for the Windows Phone platform in June, and integrating new features and developing elements and apps such as the RideBoard and Shout in the latter half of the year. The level of service and the visibility of what is available on the “Avego Transport Network” is now far clearer to both real-time ridesharers and carpoolers this year, with far more new capabilities and increased performance coming in 2012… so stay tuned!”

Sean O’Sullivan, Managing Director, Avego

If you missed out on any of our 2011 Newsletters, make sure you catch up here! »

We’re Keeping it Real (time)
Although some of you may be familiar with 2012 as the Chinese “Year of the Dragon”, at Avego we’re proclaiming it “the Year of Real-time Ridesharing”. We’re not sure whether our proposed zodiac symbol (left) will catch on, but we do know that three out of four commuters polled in 2011 would carpool to save money. We also know that using RTR to commute saves time, money and the environment. So we’re hitting the New Year with a Ridesharing blast as we launch our first 2012 RTR pilot in California this Spring, with more launches following quickly afterwards in Summer and Fall.

Real-Time Ridesharing (or dynamic ridesharing) has been lighting up the blogosphere and the media over the course of 2011, with articles in the Boston Globe, Edmund’s Inside Line, Fast Company and PC World, to name but a few. In an article by FastCo, the rise of the “sharing economy” is addressed, as seen through increased interest in ridesharing, as well as recent growth in the popularity of websites such as airbnb, swap.com and taskrabbit.com. Unfortunately we don’t yet know the answer to their question, “is this the end of hyper-consumption?”, but we do believe that this new trend, combined with the ever-increasing penetration of smartphones, point to the start of Real-Time Ridesharing as an international movement.

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First touch-card payment system for commercial bus operators in Ireland deployed using Avego in-vehicle solution

Unveiled just last month, the LEAP card is the first-of-its-kind public transport smartcard in Ireland. The rechargeable, electronic touch payment card can be used by commuters interchangeably on public buses, trains, light rail and commercial buses. Avego was chosen by the Irish government to provide the hardware and software systems for hundreds of buses on more than 20 commercial bus operators taking part in the program.

While the main benefits to consumers – increased convenience in boarding, managing tickets and paying for transport – are well understood, the introduction of the LEAP card will also benefit operators greatly, by improving schedule performance, increasing ridership, speeding boarding time and eliminating fraud.

The first of these operators, Matthews Coaches, began deploying the Avego-run system in December and will be joined by the remaining commercial bus operators during 2012. Avego’s ticketing hardware provides these operators with a solution that is fully interoperable with public transport services. Their on-board hardware includes a brand new Android-based Avego Ticketing Mobile Data Terminal (MDT), with an integrated printer and barcode reader, as well as several mobile ticketing and smart card units. Once fully deployed, the LEAP card system will allow commuters and tourists to switch between multiple modes of transport seamlessly.

To learn more about Futurefleet’s comprehensive in-vehicle services capabilities, contact us today!

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Shout: Traditional Carpooling Made Easy

Reliable, simple, straightforward: that’s what carpooling looks like with the new version of Avego Shout! Your carpool should do one thing: get you to work. It’s not supposed to give you a headache, lead to premature hair loss or cause frostbite from waiting in the cold. In just a few steps, Avego Shout helps you stop wondering where your carpool is or who is travelling in the carpool today – providing simple, real-time ease of mind.

If you’re already in a carpool, you have the most to gain from Avego Shout. So why not get some communication going in your carpool with this free iPhone app that uses Apple push notifications to message within your carpool. Without even having to write the message, let people know what time you’re arriving, that you’re waiting on them, that you’re not carpooling today or even ask where the others are, all in a few taps through the stock Shouts.

This is all great, you say, but what about when I’m driving and can’t use my phone? No problem, we’ve got you covered! Just make sure you’ve the app turned on and the integrated GPS means that your carpool buddies can see your progress on a map in real-time.

Avego Shout version 1.1 makes it even easier for first-time users (or Shouters!). The app automatically adds people from your address book to your buddy list, so you can set up a carpool with anyone you know. Whether you’re planning a weekend road trip with friends or already have a commuter carpool, the new visual guides we’ve added will make carpooling practically foolproof!

• Download the Avego app here »

Santa Barbara and three counties in San Francisco Bay Area select Avego RTR

In a major indication that Real-time Ridesharing (RTR) is becoming a new, mainstream mode of transport, several government agencies in California have chosen to pilot Avego’s ridesharing technology. Administered by Caltrans in Santa Barbara and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) in Sonoma, Contra Costa and Marin Counties, these projects will represent the largest RTR implementations to-date.

Although it’s still early days for RTR, it has already created significant buzz during the first large-scale deployment in Seattle, Washington. Avego was chosen for the go520 project by the Washington State Department of Transport (WSDOT). The aim of this pilot was to measure the impact of RTR on some 190,000 commuters, who are faced with severe congestion across the SR-520 bridge daily.

From mid-2012 the California projects will allow drivers using Avego technology to save money by sharing empty seats in their cars and riders to cut their commute headache by leaving their cars at home and booking a seat to work from their computer or smartphone. The long-term goal of RTR, shared by Avego and its partners, is to curb the number of Single Occupancy Vehicle (SOV) trips, reduce traffic congestion and ultimately cut GHG emissions, while providing a flexible, convenient transport alternative to commuters.

In Contra Costa, Sonoma and Marin Counties the RTR projects will investigate the impact of RTR on a variety of transport issues, including insufficient parking at BART stations, traffic issues on Highway 101 and the reduction of transit services in certain communities.

In the Santa Barbara area, the Community Environmental Council (CEC) hopes the commute alternative provided by RTR will help to solve a number of issues, such as over-crowding on busses to and from Isla Vista and major parking problems in the area. Each of these projects will be rolled out during 2012.

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Real-time and pre-matched ridesharing now available!

Have you ever stood in a busy airport, looked at the departure board, and thought, “this would be so much easier if I could just tap the plane I want to take to reserve my seat?”

Unfortunately, a simple tap on a departure board at the airport won’t get you a seat on a plane just yet, but it can get you a seat in someone’s car! Avego’s new “Ride Board” gives commuters another quick and easy way to arrange pre-scheduled or real-time carpools.


Riders can view Avego ridesharing activity in their area from their iPhone, Android or Windows phone, and book a ride with just a few taps. The Ride Board shows drivers who are currently en route, as well as scheduled trips in order of departure time, just like you’d expect to see at the airport.

When the rider selects a driver to match with, they can view driver details and select a convenient pick-up and drop-off point. Once the driver has accepted the request, the rider gets a PIN for authentication at the pick-up point. Easy, safe and convenient – just a little cooler than your average departure board.

The Avego Ride Board will be used in the California Real-Time Ridesharing programs in conjunction with the new Avego Shout app and Avego Driver, to ensure that both carpooling and ridesharing are made as easy and safe as possible for commuters.

The Avego Ride Board works with any web-enabled smartphone. For the best Ride Board experience check out rides in cities like Houston, San Francisco and Seattle in the USA. More and more cities will be rolling out in the coming months – try it out in your own area at m.avego.com.

Download the Avego app here »

Avego co-founder and Managing Director selected for an investment TV series in Ireland

Sean O’Sullivan has made the headlines once more. The Avego co-founder and Managing Director has been asked to join one of the top 10 TV series in Ireland, The Dragons’ Den.

Despite the harsh tone implied by the name, the Den (known as the “Shark Tank” in the US) is a forum for Irish entrepreneurs to pitch their business models to a panel of five successful venture capitalists. Such investment prospects are key for companies with a good model, struggling against the current economic tide.

The businesses chosen to appear on the show are convinced they have a model bound for success and the drive to achieve their goals, but know they lack the financial backing and experience to expand. The investors, or Dragons, which O’Sullivan is to join in the upcoming series, are on the prowl for new businesses truly worthy of investment.

The Irish Dragons have invested in over 20 high potential Irish companies to-date and hope to provide more promising companies similar opportunities in 2012. The show originated in the UK, but has now spread to over 20 countries and currently ranks as the 8th most popular series on Irish TV.

Avego co-founder and Managing Director Sean O’Sullivan seems a natural choice for this position, having proved himself both a successful entrepreneur, with several multi-million dollar start-ups under his belt, and a keen investor as General Manager of SOSventures, a venture capital and investment management firm.

The show is due to air in March 2012 when O’Sullivan will join his four fellow Dragons: media guru Gavin Duffy, property specialist Niall O’Farrell, publisher Norah Casey and founder of the Insomnia coffee chain Bobby Kerr. O’Sullivan is excited by the opportunity the show provides and has said that he believes efficiency and creativity are generated in times of recession. He notes that this is reflected in the birth of many highly successful companies in similar periods throughout history.

Watch the interview with Sean O’Sullivan on the Late Late Show (Irish Saturday night talk show)

More info?

Read the realated articles from the Irish press:
The Irish Independent
The Irish Times

For more information on the Dragons’ Den in Ireland, please visit the official website.

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Survey Reveals Untapped Consumer Demand for Carpooling

Avego conducted a commuter survey to try to understand people’s attitudes towards carpooling. Specifically, we wanted to find out if time and/or money savings were motivators to consider carpooling.The survey of U.S. commuters revealed key findings in a number of areas including:

Saving Time and Money: 77 percent of consumers surveyed responded that they are interested in carpooling. Of those interested, 60 percent are motivated to carpool by the potential to save time on their commute, and 69 percent are motivated by the potential to save money.

How Much Money? For those consumers who would consider carpooling, 66 percent would carpool for $30 or less in savings per week.

Controlling the timing: When asked the primary reason they like to drive to work, 37 percent of respondents indicated they like to control when they leave, while 19 percent choose driving because it is more convenient than other options.

Rural vs. Urban: 77 percent of survey respondents who identified themselves as rural or suburban residents indicated they would be interested in carpooling versus 76 percent of respondents who identified as urban dwellers. Urbanites were most likely to be motivated by time savings, while rural/suburban residents were most motivated by saving money.

The findings come at a critical time for America’s transportation authorities, as new data from Inrix and the Texas Transportation Institute’s recent Urban Mobility Report detail the massive amounts of time and money wasted by traffic congestion. Additionally, President Obama recently outlined a $556 billion transportation plan as part of his 2012 budget proposal.

“Despite the gradual decline in carpooling in America in the last 30 years, interest in carpooling remains phenomenally high,” said Sean O’Sullivan, Avego managing director. “If technology and policy can combine to offer the right mix of time and money savings to potential carpoolers, millions of Americans can play their part in reducing the huge costs of traffic congestion and infrastructure.”

Currently, nearly twice as many people in the United States carpool as take public transit, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The data from the survey suggests America’s carpooling rate could be seven times higher than it already is.