Elon University has partnered with a San Francisco-based company to launch a private network for carpooling. That company, Zimride, created a Facebook-integrated platform to help its users share commutes or one-time rides while reducing campus traffic and parking congestion.
Starting today, all University students, faculty and staff can access the free Elon Zimride system at http://www.zimride.com/elon
“We’re excited to offer a program that will allow our community to easily find and share rides,” said Elaine Durr, Elon’s sustainability coordinator. “Zimride will help faculty and staff find carpool partners for their commute, and students will be able to share their one-time trips.”
Through Zimride’s web-based interface, faculty, staff and students will be able to find others with similar commuting patterns. Zimriders can view profiles for common networks, interests and friends before deciding to share a ride.
The partnership marks a significant step in improving campus sustainability while helping professors, staff members and students save money on daily commutes or on longer one-time trips.
“Faculty and staff will hopefully use this for their regular commuting, to find people to share regular rides,” Durr said. “Students will be able to share their one-time trips.”
The university will continue to host E-net’s want ads for students and employees seeking carpools.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, driving personal vehicles contributes 19 percent of overall carbon dioxide emissions. In 2009, the Department of Labor reported that the average American household spent over 17 percent of its annual income on transportation.
Zimride is the largest online social rideshare community in North America with more than 350,000 users. It has implemented private rideshare communities for several of the nation’s leading universities and companies including Stanford, UCLA, University of Michigan, Cornell University, Wal-Mart and CIGNA.