NYRides.Com Announces Launch; Unique Portal is One-Stop Shop for Transportation Information

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., April 6, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) — NYRides.com, an innovative transportation portal intended to aid inter-regional travel in the lower Hudson Valley, has officially launched. Organized by transportation type and county, NYRides.com is the only online source for complete mass transit and ridesharing information in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange and Ulster counties.

Complementing existing travel websites like TRIPS123.com, NYCommute.org and individual transit operator sites, NYRides.com houses information on trains, buses, ferries, vanpools, carpools and a list of all park-and-ride lots. The newest site feature is an interactive map that allows users to zoom in on specific sections of any of the six counties and find out how to get from one county to another.

Development of the website was a major undertaking, including collaboration among 26 transit operators and county officials from the Hudson Valley, Connecticut and New Jersey as well as feedback from commuters who travel within the Hudson Valley. Co-chairs of the NYRides Committee were Charles Zabielski, director of marketing, Metro North Railroad, and John Lyons, CEO and President, MetroPool Inc. Lyons said, “The website is intended to be a tool and not just a destination. Commuters and other travelers can come to the site to locate services or to get help in mapping their trips.”

The project was funded by the New York State Department of Transportation and coordinated by MetroPool, a commuter solutions company that provides services under contract to the DOT.

“The teamwork of all of the transit operators was essential to the successful completion of the project. This is probably the largest group of transportation organizations involved in such a project,” said Zabielski. “We feel confident that together we have built a site that any traveler will find useful.”

Accompanying the site is a print map of the region as well as a list of the transit operators, contact information as well as a grid showing which services operate in each county. For more information, visit www.nyrides.com or contact MetroPool at (800) 346-3743 to request copies of the map.

MetroPool’s mission is to deliver commuting solutions to improve mobility and ease the movement of people, improving workforce effectiveness, economic well being and quality of life in the lower Hudson Valley and Fairfield County, Conn. regions.

This news release was distributed by PrimeNewswire, www.primenewswire.com

 CONTACT: MetroPool          Alexander Charles          (203) 388-4418          acharles@metropool.com