Frequently asked questions

What is iHopOn?

A way to find someone who already drives the route you drive, at roughly the hours you keep, and share the ride. It matches on where you commute from, where you're heading, which days you're in, and when you need to arrive.

Who can join?

Federal public servants and people who work for a Crown corporation, verified with their work email, who commute in or into the Ottawa–Gatineau region. That region reaches well beyond the city: Arnprior and Renfrew to the west, Hawkesbury and Cornwall to the east, Kemptville, Smiths Falls, Perth, Brockville and Athens to the south, and Chelsea, Wakefield, Val-des-Bois, Bowman, Gracefield and Maniwaki to the north.

Crown corporations such as CBC/Radio-Canada, VIA Rail, Export Development Canada and the Bank of Canada are recognized, and a small number of other public employers are approved case by case. You create your account with a personal email address (a work address can't be used); it's the work email you verify that decides whether you're matched.

What if my work email isn't recognized?

Government addresses ending in .gc.ca or .canada.ca are never turned away, even if we haven't seen that specific domain before — they go to a person for review rather than being rejected, and you're matched while you wait; only the verified checkmark waits for the review. If you work for a federal department or a Crown corporation and your address is refused, write to support@ihopon.com and we'll look at it. If it checks out, we'll add it and let you know.

If the code never arrives — some departments' mail filters hold messages from outside senders — write to support@ihopon.com from the address you signed up with, and we can check it by hand.

You can also skip this step and come back to it; Today keeps a reminder until it's done. Just know that you won't be matched, and won't see the day board, until your work email is verified.

Is it free?

Completely. There is no paid tier, no trial, and no card required. iHopOn processes no payments at all — any cost sharing happens directly between you and the person you ride with.

Will I have matches right away?

Maybe not, and we'd rather say so than let you find out. iHopOn is new, so some routes are still quiet. Verify your work email and finish your profile anyway — matching is gated on that verification, then runs as soon as your profile is done and again every night, so anyone who joins your route afterwards turns up in your matches without you doing anything. Check back, and check the day board for one-off rides in the meantime.

Do I need a car?

No. You can join as a rider, as a driver, or as someone happy to take turns driving. Riders and drivers are matched with each other, so both are equally useful to have here.

How does matching work?

We look at where you both start, where you're each headed, and whether your weeks fit. The biggest factor is the route: how many extra minutes of driving it takes to pick you up and drop you at your own workplace, measured on real roads rather than as the crow flies. Then how many office days you share — at least two, or just one if either of you is only in the office one day a week — whether your arrival windows line up, and whether your roles fit — a driver and a rider, or anyone with someone who takes turns. A pairing that would force a river crossing neither of you makes alone ranks a little lower.

A good schedule can't make up for a hopeless drive. If the detour is long, the match scores low however well your days line up, and past about 35 minutes of extra driving we don't suggest it at all. A driver with a very long commute — well over an hour — has more room, so for them the limit grows with the length of their own drive, up to 50 minutes. Only people who have verified a work email are matched.

Each match shows an overall-fit percentage, and its page shows what's behind the number — both of your weeks side by side, the extra driving time, where each of you is headed, and their ride preferences such as smoking, scent-free and winter tires — so you can judge it yourself rather than trusting the figure. New matches, and requests waiting on your answer, are listed first.

Can I be picked up somewhere other than home?

Yes, if you're the one riding. Under You, turn on Meeting point and choose how far you'd go — 5, 10 or 15 minutes — to reach a park-and-ride or carpool lot on your way in. Matching then also tries picking you up at each lot you can reach, and suggests one only when it makes a better match than picking you up at home. When it does, the match names the lot, only you are shown how long it takes you to get there, and the driver's map shows the lot instead of your home. It stays off unless you turn it on.

Or start from a meeting point instead of home, whether you drive or ride: under You, set Where you start to From a meeting point and pick one or two lots near you. Your matches and day board rides then start there, and nobody sees your postal-code area or any point near your home — only the lot. Fewer people may match with you, since the lot has to be on their way.

Does my employer see any of this?

No. iHopOn is an independent project with no connection to any employer, and nothing about your account is reported to anyone. The work email you verify is used to show that you have an address at an eligible employer. We keep only a scrambled fingerprint of it and the name of your employer's email domain, never the address itself. If you choose to sign up with a work address as well, that one is your account email and is stored the ordinary way; our Privacy Policy explains the difference.

What do other members see about where I live?

Your postal-code area, the first three characters like "K2J · Barrhaven", on your match card. On a match's page, a point rounded to about a kilometre, the same one every time. Once you and a match have both accepted, their page shows the point on the postal code you gave instead, so you can each judge whether the other is really on your way; you see the same about them. The exception is a match where you'd be picked up at a park-and-ride: that page shows the lot, not where you live. If you start from a meeting point, every page shows that lot instead, and no area or point near your home. A day board ride you post shows the rounded point too. You are never asked for a street address, and there is no location tracking in the app at any time. Our Privacy Policy sets this out in full.

Do I have to give out my phone number?

No. There's no phone number field in iHopOn at all. Messaging happens in the app, and if you want to exchange numbers with someone you've decided to ride with, that's entirely your call.

What's a pod?

A small recurring carpool — the same few people, the same days. It starts from a conversation. When you connect with a match, a chat opens, and once you've talked it through either of you can press Start a carpool there. The pod starts right away, with the days and times you both already commute. The rest is optional, to fill in whenever you've settled it: where you meet — a park-and-ride from the list, or a postal code — who usually drives, and how costs are shared. Anyone in the pod can change these, and the others are told what changed.

Connecting commits you to nothing on its own — it only opens the chat. A pod can grow past two, too: invite someone, and everyone already in it confirms before they join.

What's the day board?

Somewhere to post a single trip: “driving downtown Thursday, one seat”, or “need a ride home Friday at 4:30”. It's for the days a regular arrangement doesn't cover — a sick driver, a late meeting, an unusual office day. Times are work hours: when you need to be at work, or when you leave it. If a post looks just like your usual week we'll point that out, but you can still post it. Posts expire on their own after the trip. Your regular week doesn't need posting — it's already on your profile, and everyone it fits sees you in their matches.

Posts show to people who live in your area, and to anyone the trip is on the way for — a short detour for whoever drives, heading to the same part of town. Each ride has its own page with the trip, who posted it and a map. When you post, the people in your area it would genuinely suit get an email about it — after a 15-minute pause in case you change your mind, and never more than three of those emails a day, or more than one a week about the same person. When you accept someone for a seat, a chat opens between you so you can settle where to meet. You can have up to three posts open at once, and no two can overlap on the same day.

How does money work?

Between you, entirely. iHopOn handles no payments and takes no cut. Members often agree on a per-trip contribution toward fuel and parking, and any figure shown in the app is simply a note about what you agreed.

Keep it to cost sharing. A rider's share can cover the cost of the trip — at most $0.54 per km driven, plus parking and tolls. A driver offers seats only on a trip they're making anyway, carries iHopOn passengers on no more than one round trip (or one one-way trip) a day, and never uses iHopOn to find paying customers. These are the conditions Ontario and Quebec set for carpooling. Past them, a ride becomes paid transport that needs a licence, and the driver's personal insurance may not cover it.

What if someone doesn't show up?

Talk it through in your chat first — most missed mornings are a mix-up. After a week in the same pod you can give each other a star rating, and the average follows someone into future matches, which is the real consequence — there's no penalty beyond it, and no charge.

If it becomes a pattern rather than a bad morning, report it and we'll look at the account.

What if I feel unsafe with someone?

Block them — it's immediate and works both ways, so you disappear from each other's matches, messages and day board. Report them too if something happened; safety reports are read first, by a person.

If you're ever in immediate danger, call 911 first and tell us afterwards. See the trust and safety page for the fuller picture.

Can I pause matching, or leave a pod?

Yes to both, at any time, without giving a reason. You can hide yourself from matching while keeping your account, or leave a pod outright. Once a month, Today also asks whether you're still carpooling; if you're not, you can leave from there in one tap. One thing worth knowing: a carpool needs two people, so if there are only the two of you, leaving ends the pod and the other person is told.

My account uses my work email. How do I move to a personal one?

Under You → Name and sign-in email (or the Change address link in Notification settings) you can move your account to a personal address. We ask everyone still signing in with a work address to do this, since a work address can no longer be used to sign in. We ask for your current password and send a code to the new address, and nothing changes until you enter it. From then on you sign in with the new address and every email goes there, and we let your old address know. Your verified work email badge isn't affected.

I misspelled my name. Can I fix it?

Yes. Under You → Name and sign-in email, change your first name or last initial and save. Everyone sees the corrected name straight away, and pod names made from your old spelling are updated too.

Can I choose what iHopOn emails me?

Yes, under You → Notification settings. You can switch email or push notifications off entirely, turn off individual kinds — new matches, day-board posts, pod activity and so on — and set quiet hours when nothing is sent. Codes you've asked for, and messages about your own account, still come through.

Is there an iHopOn app?

Yes, without an app store. You add iHopOn to your phone's home screen from your browser, and it opens like any other app. Turn on notifications there and you can get new matches, messages and ride updates on your phone instead of by email. Step-by-step instructions for Android and iPhone are at ihopon.com/en/install.

How do I delete my account or get a copy of my data?

Both are self-serve, under You, then Privacy & data. The download covers what we hold about you, including your matches, requests, posts, notifications and verification attempts. The one thing it leaves out is written comments other members left about you; ask at privacy@ihopon.com and we'll review them for you. Deleting removes your personal information and closes the account immediately. What stays, with your identity removed, is listed in our Privacy Policy under "How long we keep it".

Is iHopOn connected to the Government of Canada?

No. It's an independent project, not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated on behalf of any employer — including the federal government. Verifying a work email proves where someone works; it doesn't mean their employer is involved.