Ride Search
March 6th, 2008
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(Paid Review)
In a country like America, where public transport is patchy at best and entirely absent at worst, those who don’t own private vehicles are at a distinct disadvantage. Public transport may still serve the needs of local transport, but inter-city travel–even over short duration–can be an extremely annoying experience. The recent trend of rise in gas prices has only worsened the situation. Add to that the growing concerns over global warming, and it calls for innovative solutions like car pooling.
While the concept of car pooling has existed for quite some, finding a convenient ride is now always an easy option. Having recently tried Craiglist, I can safely say that response rate is not particularly high. Enter Ride Search.
Ride Search is a ”nationwide free car pooling service.” The model is fairly simple: They match people looking for a particular ride. Once a user registers (you cannot access the site without logging in), you are supposed to specify your details including the day of travel and pick up and drop off locations. Ride Search will look into their database and offer you the best matches. A lot naturally depends upon the number of people registered with the site;higher the number, greater the chances of success.
One concern: the site offers no search engine so you have depend upon them to find the best match. I am not sure why that is so, perhaps, it is due to privacy concerns but a search facility for registered members would be useful.
Perhaps, the most commendable thing about Ride Search is that they take privacy very seriously. Not only registration is a must for accessing the site, but users can control the information which would be released to potential matches as well would form part of the public profile. While for obvious reasons, it does not guarantee safety, it is still a welcome step.
Overall, a very good initiative which serves an important need. I would definitely given them a try next time I need a ride.
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