Avego Relaunches as Carma, Empowering Stranded Commuters to 'Get There Together'

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Just as the memory of 200,000 riders left stranded in early July begins to fade, the threat of another BART strike looms over the Bay Area. During the early July strike, 60,000 extra vehicles on the road caused gridlocked highways and hour-long backups throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Next week, commuters can expect the same.

To address this, carpooling pioneer Carma (http://car.ma), formerly Avego, has set up three carpooling super hubs in Berkeley, Contra Costa and Hayward in order to help local communities in areas not served by casual carpooling. A new evening location for casual carpoolers is also being set up by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) at Spear Street in San Francisco for homebound Carma and casual carpooling users. The inbound and outbound super hubs will be activated on August 5th if the strike goes ahead.

Carma is also helping commuters understand how to use existing casual carpool sites at http://car.ma/bartstrike. For those who prefer to arrange carpools in advance, the Carma app gives access to thousands of riders and drivers across the Bay Area.

"During the July strike we found there were more passengers than drivers, so we jumped to action, even renting buses and a helicopter to help ease the commute for East Bay residents," said Sean O'Sullivan, Carma co-founder. "This time we are working to recognize and reward drivers who use these new pick-up spots to offer rides to stranded commuters. By banding together, local residents gain access to carpool lanes and reduce their commute time."

'Carma' is now available from the Android and iPhone App stores, or on the company's website http://car.ma. Commuters are encouraged to download the app today in preparation for next week's transit shutdown.

About Carma

Founded in 2007, Carma (formerly known as Avego) leads the world in carpooling technology, helping people team up to solve the commute. Headquartered in Cork, Ireland, with offices in Silicon Valley, Austin and Dublin, Carma's customers include cities, governments, public transport operators and tens of thousands of individual consumers and private transport operators. For more on Carma, see http://car.ma or download the app from the iPhone App Store or Android's Google Play.

SOURCE Carma