Travel in a Pack: Ridesharing with Social Media
A relatively new social media site Zimride offers an easy way for users to to cut down their daily commuting cost, travel long distances, and conserve fossil fuels all in one go. Zimride is able to do this by facilitating a phenomenon called “ridesharing”.
When Tempo inquired to Zimride about its relationship with universities and colleges around the country, their representative Amit Patel shared the success they have had with many universities and colleges in North Carolina. Patel also told us that he was in the intial stages of communicating with Coastal Carolina University officials.
“I am speaking to the Sustainability Coordinator Jennifer Sellers on campus because she is interested in evaluating Zimride as a potential solution to the amount of vehicles on campus,” said Patel.
This could be an interesting solution to CCU’s traffic problems, but how does it work?
Like many other existing social media platform, e.g., Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, users will have to set up a free account. Once a member, users can create a profile, post a ride, or join a riding party. To combat any preconceived awkwardness of taking rides with strangers, Zimride profiles allow users to become familiar with each other before they meet.
Posting and finding a ride is simple enough. A user indicates whether hos is willing to drive or is just looking for a ride. The driver will define both the location and times. In the next step the driver will decide how much they will charge per seat, and if they are a passenger, what they are willing to contribute per ride. Prices range from anywhere as low as $5 to $85.
Zimride urges its members to make informed decisions, and provides a set of guidelines to follow. The pre-trip guidelines include checking profiles and reviews of other users, talking to other users ahead of time, and knowing the route. While on route, users are urged to pick a place to meet in a common area, be direct and upfront at all times, and to take breaks and pit stops on longer trips. After the trip is over, users are urged to leave a review. Zimride urges that leaving positive or negative feedback about ridesharing experiences is essential to the program because it allows other users to see who is, or isn’t, a reliable ridesharer. Zimride maintains that ridsharers should never feel obligated to get in a car, or pick up anyone they feel uncomfortable with. In other words, user discretion is advised.
