Social Network Meets Carpooling

Zimride and Facebook are teaming up to give carless students, faculty and anyone else in need, a ride.

"Zimride is a ride-share service, essentially a digital bulletin board. The system will identify and match you up with those looking to go to the same places," Alison Carpenter, the University's transportation planner, said.

Zimride's policy allows personally-set prices for those looking to either catch a ride or to offer a ride. This creates a chance for a little extra pocket change for the semester.

"Zimride is a great way to share rides and cuts down costs for college students," Matthew Gromlich, a senior in plant biology, said. "For example, if you choose to drive home to Charlotte next weekend, it will cost you gas money.  If you post your ride on Zimride, someone else looking for a ride to Charlotte can ride with you and split the gas cost.  Since we are all State students, you really wouldn't be going out of your way to give someone else a ride and both of you benefit."

Here's how it works: When signing up online on http://zimride.ncsu.edu/, Zimride will ask the user how much they would like to be paid per passenger. Perhaps the student is signing up to be a passenger. In this case, he or she will declare how much they are willing to pay the driver. Users can choose to be paid by the hour, by the day, by the week or even by the month.

Users quickly learn specificity is key.  Students are asked to provide their basic contact information, indicate where they're departing from, where their destination is, how many times a week they will need a ride and the approximate time frames on the day they'll be using the car. During this process, users can specify their driving preferences.

Users can log onto their Facebook pages and manage their Zimride accounts there as well.

"You also have the option to share your ride postings via Facebook, in addition to Zimride, so you're more likely to find a match," a Zimride representative said. The company also honors the privacy settings Facebook users have already set.

"It's a smaller, safer space than, say, Craig's List," Carpenter said.

In the event neither party has a car, there are other options.

"Zimride is a carpool partner with Zipcar," Carpenter said.

Zipcar is a car sharing and alternative car rental service. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Zimride-Zipcar partnership started at Stanford University in 2009 and has since expanded nation-wide. The combination of Zimride's social network and Zipcar's vehicles has been mutually beneficial to both companies.

The Zipcars on campus will be provided for carpooling purposes or personal use. And these aren't just any old machines. The University has worked with the company to select practical, sustainable, and eco-friendly options for student and faculty use. This was done with a grant from the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

There are currently four Zipcar vehicles parked on campus, active and ready to be used: two Toyota Prius hybrids and two Scion XB Crossovers.

"I do recommend Zipcars… For students who live on campus without a car, renting a Zipcar for an hour could be useful to go get groceries.  For out-of-state students, Zipcar could be more cost-efficient than bringing a car from home and paying for a P[arking] spot," Gromlich said.

The only commitment required of students is an annual fee of thirty-five dollars and eight dollars for every hour the Zipcar is used. The fees go toward gas, insurance and road assistance. First time Zipcar drivers are able to utilize the first 180 miles free. After the first 180 miles, drivers must pay by the hour. To begin the process, log onto zipcar.com and create an account.

The University will be joining many colleges across the state, including Chapel Hill, Elon, Duke, Wake Forest and others all over the nation that are already operating Zipcars on campus. In Raleigh, N.C. State and Meredith College will jointly launch the Zipcars on their campuses the week of Jan. 31.