Being green is about to get a little easier. The German carpooling network, Carpooling.com, is getting ready to launch in the U.S.
The way the website works is that its users who are looking for transportation to a certain destination and drivers who are hoping to save a bit of money on gas can find one another and then negotiate a price for the ride. The site generates revenue by taking a portion of each fare. The system has demonstrated widespread success in Europe, having already expanded to 5,000 cities and 45 countries.
According to the website, 630,000 tons of carbon emissions have been saved, a figure the U.S should also aspire to as the greatest emitter of greenhouse gases among industrialized nations.
Although on a much smaller scale, Duke Parking and Transportation Services also provide a carpooling service available to all Duke staff, faculty and students who own a vehicle and live off-campus. The program includes incentives like free parking for groups consisting of 4 or more people.
With enough publicity, Duke students may likely take advantage of the Carpooling system. Some already employ the same general practices: in a Facebook group consisting of Duke students, a girl recently posted, “Anyone driving to New York for Thanksgiving and can give me a ride? Willing to pay for gas.”
Whether Carpooling will actually experience the same degree of success stateside remains to be seen.
“It is going to work," says a company exec, "I don't think the wealth of America is so great they don't need to save money.”
As if the prospects of saving some money and the environment weren’t enough, Carpooling’s website also brings in users by advertising the fact that “thousands of friendships [have been] made on the road (+10 weddings!)”
Case in point, in response to the girl’s post in the Facebook group, many of the responses weren’t even in direct relation to her request for a ride. Rather, there were several proposals for making stops along the way to visit friends and having reunions. So, even if you’re just looking for some love, carpooling might be the thing for you. What they say might actually be true: in the end it’s the journey that counts.
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