In Seattle, Wash., the University of Washington is using an interactive service on the Web that matches carpool riders with drivers. Currently under way as a test project with the state's Department of Transportation, the Seattle Smart Traveler Instant Ride-matching System is interactive and operates in realtime. Citizens, as consumers, are interested in services that extend as close to them as possible. Applicants fill out a form with their browser that captures commuting data, such as their home location, destination, frequency of commutes per week and time of day for commuting. The system instantly matches the applicant with drivers from its database.
Participants can amend their travel profiles and add or delete ride offers on the fly.
According to Michael Langrehr, Maryland's chief of information technology, the reason interactive Web services are still rare concerns the technology. You've got to know how to complete the transaction. Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening recently asked the state to begin using the Internet to provide interactive services to its taxpayers and businesses by next year, and Langrehr will be working fast to iron out all the problems of interactive services on the Web. Despite the simplicity of setting up Web pages and posting information, governments will find that automating services for use on the Internet will be anything but simple. The best services will be those that are reengineered to take advantage of the technology.