The Reality of Sharing Your Ride

When carpooling and HOV lanes were first graced with popularity a while ago, people jumped on the bandwagon, so to speak.  Just think!  You can save money on car maintenance and gas, reduce emissions and even get to work faster.  It was the object of entertaining commercials, appeared in sitcoms and became an ordinary facet of life.  But what about now?  While the pros have changed, the cons have stayed the same.  So, is carpooling or ride-sharing really for you?

When people began weighing in on carpooling, a lot of them had the same things to say: “Driving is the only time I have to myself!”  Drivers found peaceful solitude within their vehicles, listening to music and escaping other stresses (except for traffic snarls).  But other, more viable concerns also began popping up.  Imagine running out to the parking lot on your lunch break, only to remember that you didn’t drive a car to work!  You can’t run errands for the boss, follow up on a business request, have transportation home for overtime or any other type of travel before and after work.  There are other options, but many feel truly secure walking out and climbing into their own vehicle.  There was also the added discomfort of riding with disagreeable people and always having to meet or drive someone yourself.  And in some situations, it just isn’t practical if everyone works odd hours!

Surely there must be a solution to this aggravation.  Thankfully, our sustainable and innovative world is just getting better.  Zipcars may be the way of the future.  Here, you can car-share with the rest of the U.S.  The company is based on popular European car sharing practices. You can call or go online to reserve pretty much any kind of car, even hybrids for you savvy green-drivers and have it ready to go!  By becoming a member of Zipcar, you are guaranteed to have transportation, anytime, anywhere.  You can pay by the hour, which is convenient and an access card will let you drive it for as long as it is promised to you.  After that, the “kill” function will step in and take control.  Well, you get the idea.

This is the kind of car sharing that appeals to many, especially the ones who dislike carpooling with others.  It will also achieve what carpooling hoped for, which means cutting back on our dependence on individual cars and gasoline and significantly reduce emissions.  Who knows?  We may even reach permaculture status one day where whole neighborhoods use one car.  But for now, we can start small and work our way up.

Do you carpool or are you leaning more towards the “rental way” to car-share?  Tell us at  SocialYell!  Also, yell your opinions about Zipcar as a business to tell us how you really feel.

Ashley Strickland is a senior majoring in journalism at the University of Georgia.  She is not a good carpooler.  At all.