City travellers in Australia will soon be able to save time, money and reduce urban air pollution by using the world's most advanced car-pooling system.

The Easy Share system, which swiftly matches members wanting a lift with those offering a ride, will be launched in Sydney next month (November).

"Traffic congestion in Sydney is forecast to worsen by 600 per cent in the next twenty years," says Mr John van der Touw, a scientist with CSIRO Mathematical and Information Sciences.

"And every year 25,000 additional passenger vehicles are registered in Sydney, so keeping cars off the road will not only save money and time, it will reduce stress for car commuters and curb air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions."

"Easy Share's success depends on a combination of psychology and technology," says Mr van der Touw. "Psychology because people must be willing to join and use the system, and technology because the system must be able to quickly find matches between those offering and those wanting a ride."

Monash University and Drummond Research carried out the psychological research, and CSIRO did the mathematics to see if the success rate in finding matches would be high enough to make the system viable.

In 1992-4, Mr van der Touw developed a computer model of the ride sharing system using information about population sizes, road networks, where people travelled to and from, how often and how long it took.

He had to take into account how many people might offer or want lifts, how far they might be prepared to detour to pick someone up and what percentage of Easy Share members' trips might be taken with Easy Share instead of travelling another way.

"We concluded that, for the system to be a success, at least 2.5 per cent of the total number of trips in a city would have to be made using Easy Share," Mr van der Touw said.

Easy Share is initially aiming to get 100,000 members by early next year in Sydney. In the three weeks since its announcement more than 1000 members have signed up.

Easy Share is starting first in Sydney because of its large population base. If it is a success the company intends to expand to include all of NSW. Then if that is successful, they plan to go national.

Europe and the United States already have a number of successful ride sharing schemes. Citynetz in Germany organises rides for 1.5 million people each year.

Easy Share's unique feature is its customised matching software which allows members to specify their preferences for travel partners and match rides quickly. Members can express preferences about the kind of travelling companions they will have - smokers or nonsmokers, male, female, age group and even those with compatible taste in music.

Easy Share is a private company which has the support of the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority, The Commonwealth Government's Energy R & D Corporation (ERDC), Australian Ethical Investment Ltd, and the NRMA.

More information:
Mr John van der Touw, CSIRO, 03 9545 8012 (bus hrs) and
03 9803 3433 (after hours)
Ms Lindsay Gill, Easy Share, 02 9389 5599 or mobile 041 234 5941
Professor Thomas Triggs, Psychology Department, Monash University, 03 9905 4000
Alan Drummond, Drummond Research, 03 9785 1503

To register or get more information about Easy Share:
phone 1300 302 402 or visit their website at
WWW:http://www.easyshare.com.au