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Need a ride home for Thanksgiving? A carpool is just a mouse click away.
A new Facebook application allows students to find rides with others who are traveling to similar destinations for the holiday season.
Facebook's carpool application matches students headed in the same direction using Google Maps. Students post that they need a ride or that they will offer one. When they enter their desired destination, the application displays a list of users making the same trip who also need a ride, or will offer to give one.
"The idea was born out of the idea that carpooling is such an important part of the solution towards more sustainable transportation, but the key element of trust and comfort was missing," said John Zimmer, co-founder of carpool.
"Facebook and the popularity of social networks has changed the game. Facebook allows users to see who they will be riding with before they decide to join the ride or accept passengers."
To ensure security, users may choose who they wish to ride with after viewing other users' Facebook profiles or they may simply choose rides from students within their own school network.
Philip Shapiro, a freshman government major at Cornell University said, "It seemed like a great idea, because it enables you to get or give rides to your Facebook friends, rather than just anyone at your school, as a standard ride-board does."
Some students charge to drive others to their destinations, and save money on gas.
"I heard one student say that they made $40 a few weekends ago by driving two students home with them. These are the great stories that we are starting to hear," Zimmer said.
Matt Young, Class of 2006, said, "I live here in lovely College Station, but commute to Rockdale [Texas] every day to teach high school science. Gas is killer and the drive can get long and lonely - covering about 110 miles - everyday. I think the carpool application is a great way to save on gas."
The carpool application's popularity is growing among students from schools throughout the United States. More than 10,000 rides have been posted in the previous few months. A recent press release called the Facebook carpool application "the most popular online ridesharing service in North America."
"I believe the carpool application has become so popular, so fast because it is providing a useful and convenient service to students while allowing them to make a more sustainable and financially affordable decision," Zimmer said.
In time, the creators of the application want it to benefit the natural environment by reducing carbon dioxide, and the communal environment by building trust and companionship among students who carpool together.
"Once adopted on a large scale, the application will reduce national carbon dioxide emissions by millions of pounds," Zimmer said. "It will demonstrate the power of the individual and a collective community built around trust."
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