Program offers holiday carpool options
Written by Jane McInnis, Nov 22, 2011, 0 Comments
For students in need of a ride home for the holidays, there is a rideshare option that is more barefaced than Craigslist—Zimride.
Zimride connects commuters to rideshare in their respective networks.
For USF students, this means anyone in the USF system.
Students can join Zimride immediately, using their USF net ID to log in. Once signed in, options for commutes and single trips are available for viewing.
Zimride made its USF debut last August, when the university’s Center of Urban Transportation Research Center approached the company.
“You can click and join immediately,” said Julie Bond, the center’s senior research associate.
While Zimride has been advertised at Bull Market at USF and in pages of The Oracle in Tampa, it was extended to USFSP students by email notifications.
The Zimride website is straightforward, with a Google map that’s marked with all potential rides in the area. For ride search, users type in where they’re “starting from” and where they’re “going to.”
Users can choose price, request smoking or non-smoking, and even delve into music preferences.
In addition to connecting with someone in the USF network, users can link to each other’s Facebook profiles. Students can view potential passengers and see if they have common friends or interests. Co-founder John Zimmer says the Facebook feature allows people to feel comfortable sharing rides with each other.
You do not need a car to use Zimride—users can offer or request rides.
To date, 2,300 USF students have signed up for Zimride, Bond said. The majority of those participating are undergraduates.
“The students like it because it’s secure,” Bond said.
These ride-share options are not only contained in the region. There are ride options for trips across the state, and out of Florida.
For every search, Bond says there is an average match of seven proposed. This gives students more options for price, and whom they choose to ride with.
In addition to the USF network, trusted partners in other Zimride networks can be included in searches. As of 2011, this includes Hillsborough Community College in Tampa and the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
After its first year, Tampa Student Government decided to extend the contract with Zimride to 2013 at $9,500 per year.
Students can log on to www.zimride.usf.edu to sign up.
