It’s a well-known preconception that being Dutch and cycling go almost hand in hand, a match made in heaven on flat reclaimed roads. Not necessarily, claims Sanne Scheffer, a 27 year-old Business Psychology graduate who soon found the daily 40-minute cycle commute to work in Amsterdam less than heavenly in the winter rain. A lack of convenient connections meant that public transport was not a viable solution for her either. ‘I’d be pedalling away and wondering why all the cars only ever have one person in them, so I set about finding a colleague to share the ride with. We got talking about why more people don’t share their cars, and our idea was born from there.’

Making the most of mobile innovation

While car-pooling is not new, especially since heightened awareness about carbon emissions and congestion stress, Sanne has come up with an innovative way of using today’s mobile technologies to provide real-time availability, taking it beyond the standard school run or long-haul drive. ‘Imagine you’re at work in the city centre and want to get back home to the suburbs: your mobile phone or smart phone will tell you whether there are any Fairmiles cars in the area, who will instantly be shown your location and where you want to go.’ The system comes at minimal cost to passengers and offers financial incentives for drivers, who gain an easy way to monetise their empty seats.

Driving for change

In a country where the number of full-time employees using public transport has dropped by 15% in the past ten years—a figure that rises to 30% among people working under 30 hours a week—commuters are the initial target for Fairmiles, before the service is rolled out to anyone looking to get from A to B.

Sanne is aware that mentalities need to be modified and is eager to do so. ‘The challenge in our plan is not the technology, it’s changing people’s behaviour,’ she says, pointing out that environmental concerns and carbon reduction are crucial, but only when coupled with a social impact. ‘There’s a tendency at the moment to think more green, but that’s not the tipping point, if you ask me. The key is to create a different way of thinking altogether, a society that is less individualistic.’

Sharing is miles better

Sanne is equally eager to show other young women they can break into entrepreneurship. ‘A lot of my friends miss the chance to bring change to the world. We live in a privileged country and have all kinds of opportunities, but we feel as though there is so much more to give back.’

It is this social impact and its possible future applications that drive her ultimate ambition for Fairmiles, which she sees as a service that will link to social networking. ‘We are planning to cater to individual needs, such as women-only drivers, for example, or more broader networking linked to sites such as Facebook or Linkedin, where you’ll know more than just the person’s transport needs, but also their profession, interests and talents. So you might even end up meeting a future business partner, just like I did!’