Zimride Tips from DC Carpool and Slug Lane Veteran

What were the odds that a man named John Zimmer would think up a plan for matching up commuters interested in carpooling through a site like Facebook, then meet a man name Logan Green who not only developed and began implementing that same idea but named his concept Zimride"?

Was the name "Zimride" destiny calling?

Zimmer and Green joined forces and launched Zimride a year ago. Green came up with the name "Zimride" after witnessing a surge in carpooling in Zimbabwe when gas prices soared.

No longer reliant on Facebook, Zimride has its own website to allow commuters interested in carpooling partners to view each other's profiles and make contact.

Zimride is hot. So hot that after it was featured on ABC last night, the Zimride website server overloaded and crashed.

Zimmer is currently traveling cross-country with carpoolers to promote Zimride, making the most of the fact that he needed to move to the West Coast.

Will Zimride be a Success?

With gas prices soaring and commuters desperate for relief, Zimride promises to be a workable solution for many commuters.

If people can pick partners for intimate encounters or dates that might lead to intimate encounters from social networking sites, using Zimride to find a carpool rider should be a cinch.

Finding the Right Carpool Partner

Whether using Zimride or any other carpooler finding means, it's important to select fellow carpoolers with care. I know this from my years living in the Federal city where carpooling is ubiquitous.

Anyone working for the Federal government in Washington DC becomes an instant expert on carpooling. If you don't carpool yourself, you are surrounded by friends and co-workers who carpool. You hear about carpooling in this city day in and day out.

Washington, DC's carpooling initiatives- and how they relate to what commuters using Zimride might experience- are described below.

But first, what makes a good carpooling match? And how do you find the carpooling partners that are right for you and avoid those who aren't?

Schedule Compatibility- Probably the easiest characteristic to match up is schedule compatibility. You need to work the same schedule as your fellow carpoolers. You need to know how often your fellow carpoolers might deviate from the schedule. Do they ever work late? You need to agree on notification responsibility for schedule deviations. You will need a backup plan for transportation when a schedule deviation - yours or someone else's- leaves you without a ride or without a carpooler.

Honesty - be honest with yourself and prospective carpool partners - about what you require and what you offer others. If you tend to run late in the morning, don't try to hide it. Admit it, and find someone with flexibility and willingness to accommodate this trait.

Similarly, don't promise to tolerate behavior that will drive you nuts in the long run. If you can't stand food in the car, don't offer to carpool with someone who plans to eat his breakfast in the car each morning.

Driving Responsibility and Costs-Will your new Zimride arrangement involve every carpooler taking turns driving? What happens when someone can't drive on a scheduled day (sick day, car repairs)?

If the cars use unequal amounts of gas, is the gas cost going to be shared? Who will pay tolls?

If the driver gets a traffic ticket, will that be solely the driver's responsibility or will the carpoolers chip in and pay it?

Prospective Zimriders should plan upfront for the handling of any unexpected costs- for example, inability to park in the "normal" garage and paying extra to park elsewhere- so that no one feels burned when they inevitably arise.

Safety- Safe driving is one of the hardest issues to address up front because few prospective carpoolers consider their own driving to be unsafe. Nevertheless, safety is an important issue Zimriders will need to discuss.

Basic safe driving issues Zimriders need to address include speed, sobriety, distractions, car maintenance, and seat belt use.

Noise- noise, or the absence thereof, is a critical issue for many carpoolers, especially in the morning. Zimriders who don't mind noise do not want to be paired with Zimriders who do.

Some carpoolers like to talk en route to work, and some like to use the commute as quiet time. These two categories of carpoolers don't mix.

Some carpoolers like talking but hate electronic noise.

How much and what kind of noise is acceptable to you is a key issue to discuss your prospective Zimriders.

In-car Actiivities- the variety of activities commuters engage in while en route to work is nearly endless. Some may be easier to tolerate in a prospective fellow Zimrider than others.

Does one carpooler sing along with the music she is listening to on her headphones?

Does another one text, talk on the cell phone, or work on a laptop?

What about the guy who eats his full breakfast?

A man shaves; a woman puts on makeup; they both spread out with the newspaper.

You get the picture. In considering which of these Zimriders is a potential carpooler for you, consider three things- which of these behaviors is tolerable to you, how compatible are they with your own carpooling habits, and how will these behaviors affect whoever is driving.

Personality Variables- Some Zimriders you might want to avoid- no matter what your carpooling preferences- include anyone with suspected substance abuse problems, backseat drivers, drivers exhibiting potential signs of road rage, knitpickers, control freaks, and the hopelessly unreliable. These character traits are as obvious in a prospective Zimrider as in a cocktail party guest- trust your instincts and decline to match up with anyone who gives you a bad feeling.

Washington DC's Carpooling Initiatives

Carpooling has long been a way of life for workers in Washington DC, the Federal City. With 180,000 Feds (not including the Military) working in the Washington DC metro area, the Federal government has encouraged carpooling to reduce traffic congestion and parking concerns.

The Federal government encourages carpooling among Federal commuters by assigning carpool preferences to the limited parking spaces at Federal buildings. Those spaces are so limited that Feds who are not either high level executives or carpoolers have virtually no chance of snagging one of those coveted parking spaces.

The regional transportation authorities have also encouraged Federal commuters to carpool. By creating High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) only lanes on the crowded access roads into and out of Washington, DC, transportation authorities steer commuters who carpool out of frustrating traffic jams into faster moving lanes dedicated to carpoolers.

Zimriders new to carpooling may want to check local transportation initiatives with their own locale's transportation authorities.

Zimriders should also investigate obtaining an auto insurance carpooling discount. If one impetus for using Zimride is to save money, commuters should not overlook the additional savings obtainable through an auto insurance reduction.

Carpooling has been incredibly safe and effective in Washington DC for commuters using organized carpools. The frustrations of a bad carpool match are remedied in Wahington DC- and will be by Zimriders as well- by either developing patience or switching carpools.

Many drivers who are not in organized carpools also seek access to the HOV lanes. Some of these commuters may have erratic work schedules or commuting habits that keep them from joining an organized carpool. The unscrupulous among them place drab gray-suited dummies in the passenger seats of their cars and zip into the HOV lanes illegally. But the honest would- be carpoolers have devised another solution to their HOV lane access dilemma.

Washington DC's Slug Line- a Longstanding Informal Carpool Collective

For decades, there has been a unique and totally informal carpool collective in Washington DC known as the slug line. Drivers in need of extra riders to qualify for HOV lane use pull up to the designated slug line location where "slugs" await. The slugs are would be carpoolers who wait in a line for a car going their way. A caller at the front of the line shouts out the destination of each car as it pulls up and riders going that way fill the car on a first come, first serve basis. The ride is free; the benefit to the driver is the faster ride due to HOV lane accessibility, while the benefit to the slug is free transportation to a location near home.

The slug line has proved safe and workable for Federal slugs and drivers for decades. The theoretical safety concerns of hooking up with a stranger for a ride home don't seem to materialize in this company town. In fact, the slug line has become so popular it has spawned offspring and even its own website.

Whether Zimride will prove as safe as slugging remains to be seen. Slugging in this Federal city with its one umbrella employer might be seen as akin to hooking up with strangers in the General Motors parking lot. Driver and slug may not know each other personally but they have been vetted for employment according to similar standards- many even hold security clearances. Overall, Federal employees are considered a safe bunch. When the President wants to make a dramatic entrance on the White House lawn, landing his helicopter among cheering crowds, guess where the White House has historically recruited those crowds? That's right, the uber safe Federal workforce.

Zimriders may have to be more alert to potential safety than Washington, DC's Federal workforce and choose their fellow riders with care. But my guess based on years of experience in a city where carpooling is a given and the slug line part of the scenery, is that for the few Zimriders who might encounter a safety problem, the vast majority will likely find Zimride to be a safe, appealing, and environmentally sound transportation alternative.

Sources: "Federal Government Excluding the Postal Service," http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs041.htm; http://www.slug-lines.com/; "Zimride," http://www.imthatchick.com/?p=593#more-593, www.slug-lines.com,