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Although Roxanne did not like having to drive all the time, she infrequently utilized carpooling. She felt uncomfortable discussing carpooling with parents she did not know for two main reasons. She was shy, and she was concerned about the safety of her kids. The kids did carpool when they had a close friend in their extra-curricular activities. However, this was not always convenient since the friends did not necessarily live nearby.
3. Lin
Lin is a 48-year-old mother with 2 kids, Alice and Bob. She lives in a middle-class suburban neighborhood, and her home is located 4.4 miles away from the local middle and high school, which is about a 15 minute drive. She is married. Both parents emigrated from China, work 9 to 5 engineering jobs, and use computers every day at work.
Alice is 14 years old and plays the clarinet. Alice attends marching band practice 3 times a week from 3-5 PM. As a working parent, Lin sometimes has group meetings that although scheduled in advance, nonetheless force her to stay late at work. As a result, Lin sometimes picks up Alice late, which frustrates the band director, who is eager to go home. Lin did not speak to other parents about sharing rides because she was less inclined to take initiative due to her functional, but not fluent English skills. Alice was not socially active either.
Bob is 12 years old and plays the violin. He participates in the city youth orchestra which meets every Saturday afternoon; the location is 45 minutes away from home. Because Lin was proactive in finding carpooling opportunities, she was able to join a group of 3 parents that had already formed a carpool. It was easier to set up because the orchestra primarily consisted of Chinese-American children, and Lin is fluent and socially confident in Chinese. The kids are not friends with each other; in fact, one is completely detached from the others. This does not matter to Lin; the main concern is that the parents are trustworthy.
Regarding carpooling, Lin is most concerned with finding other parents to carpool with, optimizing for distance, being reminded of dates, and being able to switch with other parents in case a conflict comes up.
User Classes
1. Parents Reaching Out to Others
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