Starting Wednesday, students will be able to get free rides around Duke’s campus and into Durham using electric-powered vehicles, thanks to a start-up by two Duke students.
Seniors Cameron Winders and JD Herrman are launching the initiative, called Buzz Rides. The service will operate at Duke by offering a smartphone app for students to request rides in a windowless electric vehicle Wednesday through Saturday from 9:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Winders’ friend Parker Draughon, a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, founded Buzz Rides two years ago at UNC and is now helping Winders and Herrman bring the service to Duke.
Instead of charging users for rides, Buzz Rides will place advertisements on its cars in order to generate revenue. Winders noted that in addition to improving safety and sustainability, one of Buzz Rides’ major goals is to increase the interaction between the University and the Durham community by giving students a less expensive way to travel off-campus.
“I think it’s just a lot of fun,” Winders said. “The taxi experience right now is just a means of getting somewhere, but when you actually see the [Buzz Rides] vehicles, they look exciting. The cars are wrapped well, it’s more of an interaction and it’s a lot of fun to ride in these six-seater electric vehicles versus a normal car.”
Duke Buzz Rides has already contracted with the Durham County Department of Public Health on an anti-smoking ad campaign—a partnership that will help cover the operational cost, Winders noted. Herrman and Winders said they are hoping to collaborate with Duke Student Government and Greek organizations to help increase awareness of the brand among students. Winders added that he hopes Buzz Rides will receive funding from the University at some point in the future.
Buzz Rides differs from other taxi and car share services primarily in that it is free of charge for riders, Herrman explained. Because the students will not operate Buzz Rides as a car for hire, employees do not require a commercial driving license, making it easier to recruit new drivers. However, drivers must be over 21 for insurance purposes, he noted.
Prior to rolling out the service, Herrman and Winders said they are working through several challenges—including optimizing the driving route, gaining student awareness of the brand and ensuring that there will be demand during operating hours. They have already communicated with the Durham Police Department and other transportation authorities to let them know that the service provided by Buzz Rides is legal, Herrman said.
The two seniors acknowledged that Uber is a major competitor to Buzz Rides, though Winders said he thinks Buzz Rides will maintain a competitive advantage because it is free to students.
Currently, Buzz Rides at Duke owns two vehicles with seatbelts and doors but no windows. Initially, only one vehicle will serve students at a time. Winders explained that because the vehicles are fully electric, their charge will not last the entire evening, a limitation that Winders said is one reason the company will not significantly impact taxi businesses at its initial launch.
“We don’t really envision it being that much of a takeaway from taxis at this point,” Winders said. “Once we get our name out there and start advertising more and maybe get some money from the administration, then we can scale up and get more vehicles.”
Herrman said he and Winders plan to keep the organization student-run like it is at UNC. They plan to hire two additional people to deal with operations, special events, marketing and app improvement. Herrman noted that because both he and Winders are seniors, it is important to keep longevity in mind as they move forward with Buzz Rides’ operations.
“We want to change the way Duke does transportation, so it’s not like we want to have this for one year and then say ‘Alright, that was great,’” Herrman said. “We want this to continually be something that is run by students and will always be there for students.”
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