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Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Share a ride.

Alexis sent a great tip today about UrbanHitchhiker.com:
We are a rideshare matching service that is free and works anywhere in the US. Once you save your trip in the "My Trips" section, you can search our map - based interface to find other users making similar trips. You can message other users through the site, and give them a rating after you have completed a rideshare with them. Personal information and exact travel addresses are never disclosed. We also have a list of safety tips. Ride sharing is such a win - win situation. It saves gas and money and reduces pollution and traffic.
Sounds great! Here's how to get started sharing rides:

* Post your trips so fellow hitchhikers can find your trip. (They will not see your exact travel addresses.)

* Search to find rides in your area.

* Contact your ride sharing matches without revealing your personal information.

As the site says, "Ride sharing is the best way to save gas and reduce traffic and pollution. Unlike the rigid schedules of public transportation, ride sharing is a flexible way to travel to the store or across the country." Remember, you may also be able to share rides with people you already know. Try a carpool or vanpool. Or consider transit, biking or walking. Thanks for the tip, Alexis!

"Caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar." (There is no path. The path is made by walking.) - Antonio Machado

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Check this out:
http://www.wearewhatwedo.de/

janinsanfran said...

This is so simple it feels almost unAmurrican but my partner and I figured out that by juggling our schedules very slightly, I could leave her off at her work and she could walk home. By doing this, she gets her exercise and we jointly take one car off the road! There was a time when our parents wouldn't have thought this anything but normal. We have to remember that we don't always have to take a car everywhere.

Karama said...

Guten Tag, Jorg,

Viel Dank für the link to We Are What We Do. Es ist ein gut website für deutschsprechende Aktivisten. Ich hoffe that you enjoyed your visit to So what can I do. Bitte, visit again soon, und please spread the word. Tschuß!

PS: Entschuldigen Sie bitte mein Deutsches. Ich habe nicht studiend seit Hochschule.

Karama said...

Hi Jan,

My husband and I do the same thing! It's actually not that big of an adjustment to use just one car. And it's certainly better for the environment, our bank account, and foreign policy. I particularly like it because I get to spend more time with my honey!

Thanks for sharing your story. Hopefully it will inpire others to try life with just one car. Even if they don't give up the second car permanently, reducing its use will help.

Thanks for visiting So what can I do, Jan. I hope you'll stop by again soon.

Anonymous said...

I checked out the urban hitchhiker site, but it looks like it has a long way to go. The most frustrating thing is that there is no record of when the trip post was made or when the trip will take place. Doesn't look like it is getting much traffic, either, and far more hitchhikers than drivers. Nice idea, but not usable yet.

Karama said...

Thanks for the review, Lauxa. Hopefully, as more folks register the service will become more useful. In the meantime, you can still arrange carpools, use transit, bike or walk to your destination.

Thanks for visiting So what can I do, Lauxa. I hope you liked what you found and will return often. Spread the word!

Anonymous said...

You might also want to consider looking into additional opportunities in the field of ride and car sharing.

If you're going to festivals or conferences, SpaceShare builds custom ride-sharing systems. Encourage festivals, conferences or other events to use their system to share rides at SpaceShare and you'll get a ride from neighbors who like the same music or go to the same conferences as you. If you ask a conference/festival to have a rideshare system, with one call you might help dozens or hundreds of people skip a drive.

For city-to-city carpooling, sites like craigslist and erideshare.com can also be practical no matter where you live in the world or US.

You can also look into car sharing programs, if you are a resident, in places like San Francisco with companies and organizations like Flexcar and City carshare. Other major US and European cities have similar schemes.

It really seems greening up transportation isn't that hard...

Karama said...

You're right, Michael, it isn't that hard. Thanks for your comment and for the additional resources. I hope you enjoyed your visit to So what can I do. Please stop by again soon, and spread the word.