For students who want to drive home for Thanksgiving, a new Facebook application called Carpool can help them find rides.
The application allows students to post a notice if they are planning on driving and would like to have someone ride with them or if they are in need of rides, according to John Zimmer, one of the co-founders of the application. Students then can connect with others driving in their direction and share costs of gas, he said.
Matt Kagan, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, said he is skeptical about the concept of Carpool.
"I think it's a good idea, but I don't know if I would necessarily use it because it's awkward to be in a car with someone I've never met before for five hours and to have to work around their traveling schedule," he said.
Zimmer attested to the safety and credibility of the service.
"Really, we think that Facebook has created an environment where students can trust carpooling more," he said. "They [students] can choose to only ride with other students from their school, or ... only ride with people who are friends with their friends."
Though many students are skeptical about carpooling with strangers, the application has gained popularity rapidly after only being created four months ago, according to Zimmer. Over 10,000 rides have been posted in those four months and it continues to grow, he said.
"It has become popular so fast because it's providing a useful and convenient service to students while allowing them to make a more financially affordable decision," Zimmer said. "The incentives of students wanting to make money and find better transportation options ... will encourage more and more students to join on."
The creators of the application are adding a feedback feature to allow users to leave comments so that eventually more students will trust the application, Zimmer said.
Hristo Boyadzhiev, a senior in the Kogod School of Business, said he would be more willing to use the application after this feature was fully developed.
"Primarily, I wouldn't [use Carpool] because I don't trust Facebook enough for that," he said. "I would definitely consider it more if there was feedback, but it really depends on where I'm going or if it's a guy or girl driving. Not to sound sexist, but it would just depend on the person on the other end."
He said he wouldn't want to drive with "some creepy guy"
