Person driving car

Carpooling

You don’t need us to tell you that carpooling can save you money on gas and vehicle maintenance, and can even reduce stress. If you’re not already carpooling, maybe you’re worried about losing the flexibility you occasionally need to fit your schedule.

Register for uO's Carpool Perks Program

Now uOttawa makes it easier than ever to start carpooling, with new Carpool Perks to help make ridesharing work for you.

If you don’t know of anyone to share the ride with, we can help you find people to drive with by using our ride-matching service at uottawacarpool.ca! This site can help match you with potential carpooling partners who live and work near you - a uOttawa email address is required to sign up.

You can even try out carpooling for up to three months without fear of losing your old parking permit if you decide to go back to driving by yourself.

To register as a uOttawa carpool group, please fill out the carpool application form (PDF, 271KB) and submit it to the Parking's Office.

Emergency Ride Home Program

The Emergency Ride Home (ERH) Program can help set your mind at ease if you are worried that joining a carpool group will reduce your flexibility in case of an emergency. ERH will reimburse you for taxi and/or Uber fare* if you or a family member become ill, if you have to work emergency overtime, or if your driver for the day has an emergency of their own and has to leave early. 

ERH will reimburse up to $50 per occasion, as many as four times per year per Member of a Carpool Group.

Preferential parking

Registered Carpool Groups get a parking space reserved for their Group’s use on weekdays from 7 am to 3 pm in the parking lot for which they have a permit. A valid Carpool Permit must be clearly displayed in order to use the space, and unauthorized use of the space will result in an infraction notice. If someone else is using your reserved space, call the Parking office (613-562-5785) and we will attempt to contact the car’s owner to have it moved. 

Carpool parking rebate

As a reward for carpooling, registered Carpool Groups will be reimbursed each May for up to one month’s cost of their parking permit for the previous year. If your group registers later than May of a given year, your reimbursement will be prorated from your starting month up to the following April. Reimbursements will be made by direct deposit to the Carpool Captain’s bank account registered with uOttawa (as with payroll). Deadline to register as a Carpool Group and receive that year’s rebate is February 1.

Occasional day permit reimbursement

For Carpool Group members who occasionally need to drive to Campus separately from their Group, PSTD will reimburse the cost of parking in Brooks or Mann garages (up to $17.50 per occasion). Each Carpool Group Member can claim up to two reimbursements per academic session. To claim a reimbursement, simply fill out a carpool perks claim form (PDF, 122KB) and send it along with original proof of payment to the Parking and Sustainable Transportation office. Reimbursement will be made by direct deposit. 

Priority transfer requests

Carpool Groups that wish to transfer to a different parking lot or garage will be placed at the top of the transfer list for their choice of parking location. When space becomes available in the desired location, Carpool Groups on the list will get first priority. 

Ride matching site

uOttawa’s online ride-matching service makes it easy to find carpool partners who are coming from the same area as you, and who also belong to the University community.
Carpool portal

Contact us

Sustainable Transportation Office

For more information:
[email protected]
613-562-5800 X:6523