Commuting by public or private transportation sucks up untold billions of hours annually. According to the American Public Transportation Association, Americans took 10.4 billion rides on public transportation in 2011. At the same time, nine out of 10 American drive to work and about 76 percent drive alone, crowding roads.
That same year, recently retired Army Lt. Col. Joseph Kopser ‘93 came up with the idea to group all modes of transportation on a smart phone app. “One of the nation’s largest problems is inefficient use of transportation,” he says.
The transportation iPhone app idea started as a result of Kopser’s long commute to the Pentagon in Washington D.C. While sitting on his porch in Arlington, Va., with friends he thought about his messy commute and ways to solve the problem. “I told them that I had the solution and turned an idea and PowerPoint into what RideScout is today,” he says.
He created RideScout with his Army friend Craig Cummings '93. RideScout guides or shows transportation options in real time, including taxis, buses, pedicabs, and rideshare options with friends, family or strangers.
It took Kopser, a 20-year veteran and graduate of West Point and Harvard’s Kennedy School, two years to launch the app, which will work later on Android and the web. “It was during my time in the Army that I saw how we use energy efficiently and that’s where I started thinking of ways we can be more efficient,” he says. He hopes one day people leave their cars at home and use public transportation.