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App Pick up & Ride
Published on 22 September 2021
Portugal
Região Autónoma da Madeira
This is the good practice's implementation level. It can be national, regional or local.
About this good practice
The Pick up & Ride app informs the school about the approximation of parents, on a first-come, first-served basis, allowing it to send the younger children to the meeting area or, in cases where there is a Kiss and Ride track, to their vehicles in an orderly and safe manner. The application also has a second feature for students who have a mobile phone and have more autonomy, in which communication is done directly between parents and students. This application arises from the need to solve a problem of serious congestion that some schools present at the time when parents go to pick up their children by private car, parking in a disorganized way in the surroundings of the school, occupying sidewalks, bus stops and the lane, calling into question the safety of everyone and pedestrians. The application thus contributes to reduce the length of stay of self-mobilized parents in the school environment. The Pick up & Ride app is free and is available in the Play Store and App Store online stores.
Resources needed
For the development of the Pick up & Ride, it was invested around 20.000€. The download and use of the app are free and is available in the Play Store and App Store online stores for anyone or school interested.
Evidence of success
To date, the app is in 13 participating schools in the municipalities of Madeira, so parents who have their children in these schools can benefit from this service. In addition, the app has the direct communication between the parent and the student (with smartphone) and therefore the number of users is higher. The feedback from those who use the application is positive and was referred by a parent to significant improvement in traffic at the school.
Potential for learning or transfer
The dissemination strategy adopted by AREAM to promote the app in schools has replication potential in other schools. AREAM organized awareness raising sessions in several educational establishment to highlight the issues associated to the drop out and pick up hours, to open communication channels between the interested parts and to present the mobile app. These sessions aimed to improve the traffic patterns in the surroundings of schools.
According to the feedback of the parents that use the app, the Pick up and Ride mobile application proved to be an efficient solution to decrease the issues and traffic jams near schools during pick up hours. This solution can be replicated in all schools where the parents pick up the students by private vehicle. If the student do not own a smart phone, the gatekeeper can coordinate the pick up trough a tablet, where he has access to the same information presented in the app.
According to the feedback of the parents that use the app, the Pick up and Ride mobile application proved to be an efficient solution to decrease the issues and traffic jams near schools during pick up hours. This solution can be replicated in all schools where the parents pick up the students by private vehicle. If the student do not own a smart phone, the gatekeeper can coordinate the pick up trough a tablet, where he has access to the same information presented in the app.
Further information
Website
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.
Organisation
Regional Agency for Energy and Environment of the Autonomous Region of Madeira
Portugal
Região Autónoma da Madeira
Contact
Engineer