NuRide: Share a Ride, Get Rewards

Ask yourself these questions:
1. How much did you spend on your last tank of gas?
2. How much of that tank did you use just to get to and from your workplace?
3. How many people rode with you, even part of the way?
4. How many people could have ridden with you?

You likely know exactly how much you spent on your last tank of gas - too much. You are likely aware of how many times you need to fill up each week just to get to work. At the least, you know how many miles, round trip, it takes to get to work. You certainly know how many people were in the car with you. It is not likely that you are aware of the people that could have ridden with you.

NuRide encourages people to share rides. They also make it possible for you to meet people that are 'going your way.' As stated in their mission statement above, sharing a ride reduces congestion, global warming, and air pollution. Additionally, fewer cars on the road means fewer cars waiting at traffic lights, fewer traffic jams, and less stress. Honestly, wouldn't you rather be sitting in the passenger seat 50%, 66%, or 75% of the time rather than driving 100% of the time? Or, if you are driving all the time, wouldn't you like to reduce your fuel costs by sharing it with others?

NuRide takes the benefits that already exist in sharing a ride to work and adds to them. They do this by awarding points to you for each trip that you take with other NuRiders. These points can then be used to 'purchase' rewards - gas cards, gift cards, museum passes, magazine subscriptions, etc. Additionally, NuRide boosts your awareness of your actual savings and reduced emissions by tracking this for you based on the trips you log.

NuRide even makes it easy for you to find other riders. You simply choose a starting point and an end point for your trip and their system will locate other NuRiders that are making a similar trip. If you are already sharing a ride, NuRide will still reward you!

I started NuRiding when a co-worker that lived near me asked if we could carpool. My commute was 30 miles each way, his was a bit longer. He would drive from his home to meet me. We would then ride together, each driving every other day, the rest of the way to work. NuRide alerted us to the fact that another co-worker lived along our route. It was an easy thing to figure out that we could pick her up, too. She had a two-seater, gas-guzzling, rear wheel drive Mustang, so rather than having her drive, she contributed to the gas money. Instead of three of us driving individually to work, we shared the ride for a good portion of the trip and we were all rewarded for our efforts.

Sadly, NuRide is not currently available everywhere - it is still growing. Currently, if you are in Connecticut; the NY metro area; the Washington DC metro area; Hampton Roads, VA; Houston, TX; or Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, you are eligible to become a NuRider. However, even if you are outside of those areas, I recommend that you swing on over to their website and express your interest in having them expand into your area. There is nothing to lose, and a lot to gain. You can even view their tutorial prior to enrolling.

Please head over to NuRide and enroll. Do your part to reduce global warming, reduce our oil/gas consumption, reduce traffic, and save yourself and others some money at the pump and toll booths - become a NuRider today!