Carpooling is the easiest way to save money and make your commute more pleasant.  All you've got to do is find someone to share the ride.

Luckily, the region's easy-to-use and secure ride matching site - Drive Less. Connect. - has thousands of Portland metro commuters looking for a carpool.

Here's how you get started in 4 easy steps:

1. Go to DriveLessConnect.com - Sign up.

2. Verify your account - Just click the link in the email

3. Sign in to your account.

4. Match! - Enter your home and work addresses (don't worry, the system masks exactly where you live and work) and click "Match" to find out who's nearby and looking to ride share.

If you're looking for a little light reading this weekend, check out the Atlantic Cities blog and a recent posting about the rise of the supercommuter. 

Supercommuters are people that are essentially traveling between big cities for work once or more each week.  I'm talking about commuting from St. Louis to Chicago or, closer to home, Portland to Seattle.

Any of you intrepid commuters out there traveling all the way from Portland to Seattle - or Olympia or Salem - on a regular basis?  We'd like to know how you do it and how it works for you.  I get antsy when my #35 gets stuck in a little Greeley Ave traffic.  How do you handle 180 miles?

Have a great weekend commuters - it's what we're working for!

Joe Rose over at the Oregonian had a great article on Monday about an often overlooked commute option for the region - Amtrak.  Rose highlighted the growing community of Oregon City to Portland commuters who are opting for the fast, comfortable, and inexpensive option. 

Check out the video interview below with one of the commuters, Dan Anderson, that Rose features in the article.  Kind of makes me wish I lived in Oregon City so I could be an Amtrak commuter.

Portlanders pride themselves on their nerdiness and when it comes to transportation and urban issues, we are the nerdiest!  So, I'm happy to report that Portland is having not one but two mayoral debates on transportation issues.

The first debate took place in February and focused on active transportation - walking, biking, and transit.  The next debate is coming up on March 14th and will focus on their urban planning perspectives.

This debate is sponsored by, among other groups, the Oregon chapter of the American Planning Association.  This should be a particularly wonky night of urban planning bliss.  Oh, and politics too. 

*FYI: This event has an admission price.*

Click the image for detailed information >