Das Projekt "CARPLUS: Integration von Fahrgemeinschaften zwischen den Staedten der Europaeischen Union" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität St. Gallen, Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung durchgeführt. Objective: The CARPLUS project deals mainly with the promotion of car-pooling applications in European urban and peri-urban areas. The objective is to integrate the car-pooling applications within the existing telematics infrastructure of the city in order to provide to the car-poolers additional real-time information which improve the pooler service to the users and encourage its use. Technical analysis will cover matching software, guaranteed ride-home systems, geographical data and other aspects. The project will consider the widest possible range of potential users and telematics solutions, including high vehicle occupancy lanes for suburban areas and customer access to big shopping centres. General Information: The CARPLUS (ex: ICARUS proposal) project deals mainly with the promotion of car-pooling applications in European urban and peri-urban areas. The proposal is highly oriented to incentivate the use of pooled private vehicles in order to obtain benefits both at individual and social level: safety, saving in time, energy and consumption, reduction of congestion and environment enhancement. The objective of CARPLUS is to integrate the car-pooling applications within the existing telematics infrastructure of the city in order to provide to the car-poolers additional real time information which improve the pooler service to the users and encourage its use. The following technical aspects will be analysed: communication tools, matching software, guaranteed ride home systems, geographical databases, monetary exchange system. CARPLUS includes a demonstration in 5 test-sites (Madrid, Roma, Lille, Stuttgart and Switzerland) and it is trying to cover a widest range of characteristics, both in users' segment and telematic solution: a High Occupancy Vehicles lane for peri-urban residential areas, rail station connection, skiers car-poolers, bank clerks, shop centre customers, displacement between cities and industrial centre employers. The final key point of CARPLUS concerns the evaluation of the technical developments and the socio-economical benefits.