PickupPal Blog

It is really awesome the way in which festival and concert organizers have come on board with our PickupPal Eco-Rideshare program. Getting fans to festivals by using PickupPal is one of the best ways they can reduce their carbon footprint. Two new ones that launched today come from the UK and they are our first major festivals in the UK. NASS 2008 (www.nassfest.com) and Rip Curl Boardmasters 2008 (www.ripcurlboardmasters.com) - Skateboarding, BMX, Inline Skating, Motocross, Surfing, Hard driving bands - lots and lots of energy. Just listening to the intro music on their websites makes it very hard not to let the mind wander.

In other concert news, we are deep in planning mode right now - there are a few tours we will be on the road with and we will be at both the Calgary and Toronto Virgin Festival Canada 2008 by Virgin Mobile. We call it the “Rock n Roll Rideshare” and we have come up with some cool ideas to get people to come by our booth at the EcoVillage. I can’t get into details right now - however we will be giving away some amazing prizes for those that join in.

Also stayed tuned - this week we are launching our biggest partner tour and I cannot wait to spread the good word!

Cheers - Eric

Triathlon season is upon us in North America! Some of you may be brand new to the sport, and some may be crafty veterans, who’ve trained diligently all through the off season. I don’t fit into either category unfortunately…while I’ve done several, I have yet to get into the groove of extended preparation…for me, it’s usually defined in days, not months!

The first race in the Trisport Subaru series season is coming up on Victoria Day weekend in less than 2 weeks, and the intense training regimen that I started *yesterday* is in full swing - YIKES! My chicken legs will be buckling about 15 minutes in to the race. A personal race favorite is the Orillia course, where we’ve even had our kids (both < 7 years old at the time) enter in the Kids of Steel competition, so Triathlon can be a great family outing as well.

The Trisport Subaru series is the original Triathlon series in Ontario, well-organized and very professionally run, with 9 events throughout the region. This year, the same organizers have also launched a 70.3 race in Muskoka (In 2005, WTC instituted the Ironman 70.3 race series. This shorter course, previously known as a half ironman, consists of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and 13.1 mile run).

I’m thrilled to say that we’ve teamed up together with the folks at Trisport! They are very interested in providing additional value to their racers. So…if you are interested in ridesharing to any of these Tri’s, while making new friends and reducing your emissions, log in here and sign up:
events.pickuppal.com/races/Trisport
events.pickuppal.com/muskoka-ironman

Soon we’ll post a listing of Eco-Rideshare Partners (ERP as we like to call the program) such as Trisport on our website, so that it will be very easy for our PickupPal community to find concerts, festivals and sports events in their area to rideshare to and from.

See you on the course…I’ll be the one with the legs that resemble those you usually see hanging out of a nest!

Brent - PickupPal Business Development

The ink is barely dry on the deal however we are very excited about our new ERP partner The San Francisco Marathon.

Since 1977 the San Fransisco Marathon has attracted top athletes from around the world to the Bay Area. Last year the Marathon was sold out - 15,000 runners - this year I predict will be the same. As part of their commitment to reduce their carbon footprint and reduce congestion the San Francisco Marathon has chosen to use PickupPal through our Eco-Rideshare Program (ERP) to help Runners and Spectators alike to get to the race. For those not familiar with our ERP program it is FREE for any organization big or small – we will setup a custom site for you and give you access to real time reporting as well.

Note: Did you catch the emphasis on FREE - and no asterisks beside it - we are serious it is FREE - O.K. I will stop with that

So many artists are going eco-friendly – whether they are responding to their fan base’s desires or using their own massive influence to drive the trend, it’s ALL good…the point is they are starting to make a difference…both in the eco-consciousness of the world and in the actual reduction of carbon emissions to the atmosphere. Bands like The Bare Naked Ladies and Dave Matthews have been really early, positive influencers.

One thing is for sure, when you really, really believe in something, it’s easy to be enthusiastic about it, just as so many musicians are about the eco-wave. And thankfully nowadays, when what you believe in is also very good for the planet, other people tend to get contagiously enthusiastic about it too. I believe everyone CAN make a difference in reducing car emissions in different ways for example, you don’t need to just drive a hybrid (especially like this one!), you can also choose to share rides.

Over the last several months, we’ve been working very hard at forming new rideshare partnerships for PickupPal. Let me say that it has been REALLY refreshing to see and hear the overwhelmingly positive response we are getting when we reach out to connect with new potential rideshare partners. Whether it’s concert and festival producers; sports series directors or corporate sustainability folks, time and time again I hear…”This is GREAT!!! Thanks so much for your call. Timing is perfect.” In most cases, I barely have a chance to talk about the benefits when I hear them say “parking is a nightmare; traffic is a headache; WE WANT TO GO GREEN!”

It is clear to me from these conversations that the eco-consciousness of the world is changing around us, and changing very rapidly… I just bought The 11th Hour and watched it last night…and more than ever I’m convinced we CAN fix the problems in time, and that EVERY little action helps to do this. We may be down 2 games in the Stanley Cup Final, but we can bring it back. The wave of momentum is here to stay and growing every day.

Brent - PickupPal Business Development

Well we are 102 days since the launch of PickupPal and we are so thankful for the warm response we have received from all of you out there and our strategic partners. PickupPal has been working on organizing with a whole host of like minded organizations to provide Ridesharing options.

A month ago we launched the ERP program - the Eco-Rideshare Program (erp.pickuppal.com). An innovative and FREE way for organizations to provide all the power of PickupPal to their community with a customized branded interface. So here is the deal - you say you want one and send us your logo - we provide the platform, do up the graphics work, provide support for your community and host a solution - it is just that easy. No tricks and no gimmicks - you want Rideshare - we give you Rideshare! If you would like one for your organization click Here and fill in the short request form and you are good to go! It does not matter if you are hosting a house party in Hoboken or a five day massive festival in Melbourne - we will hook you up for Free!

Here are some of the organizations we are currently working with:

• Subaru Triathlon Series
• Subaru Marathon Series
• 5 Peaks Trail Running Series
• Edge to Edge Marathon
• Coachella
• Virgin Festival Canada 2008 by Virgin Mobile
• Mow Down Pollution (Clean Air Foundation and The Home Depot)
• Old Pecan Street Festival - Austin Texas

I am really excited about this program and I will be announcing more partners on this blog as they come on board!

Cheers - Eric
P.S. I can’t wait until next weeks post! It’s going to blow your socks off!