USF showcases car sharing, other driving alternatives on Wednesday

Posted Sep 28, 2010 by Lindsay Peterson

Updated Sep 28, 2010 at 10:06 AM

Zimride is coming to USF.

It’s a high-tech ride-sharing service that’s up and running at about 50 universities around the country, including the University of Central Florida.

The way it works, users go to their Facebook pages to register where they need to go and what time, and Zimride uses its route-matching algorithm to connect them with drivers who have the same plans.

It even takes into account preferences, like if you want to ride with a smoker or not. Sort of like Match.com, except without the commitment.

You can do it via email if you’re not on Facebook.

On Wednesday, at USF’s Transportation EXPO, you can learn more about Zimride, WeCar and half a dozen other ways to get around without a car.

It’s happening all day in the Marshall Center, so it will be hard to miss.

The event is “about transportation choices that will save students money, help people get where they need to go, and help the campus achieve carbon neutrality,” says Sara Hendricks, with USF’s Center for Urban Transportation Research.

It will also offer you a chance register to vote, so you can have a say in the November ballot issue to raise the sales tax to pay for a local light-rail system.

The EXPO’s sponsors are the USF Office of Sustainability and the New North Transportation Alliance, which includes USF, Busch Gardens, University Mall businesses and other large employers in the USF area.