Though The American Automobile Association (AAA) is only expecting a relatively marginal 2.5 percent decrease in travel over the holiday weekend compared to last year, gas prices are currently averaging $3.57 across the U.S. — an 82-cent increase from the same time last year.
In a timely piece of news for all those weekend riders out there, the social ride-sharing startup Zimride announced today that it has passed the 100 million miles-traveled mark. Since the FbFund recipient launched three years ago, travelers in the Zimride network have logged over 100 million miles and have saved over $50 million in vehicle operating expenses.
Zimride, co-founded by Logan Green and John Zimmer, focuses on college, university and corporate communities, allowing its users to join networks based on these communities in order to facilitate and coordinate carpooling. The startup allows the first 50 users within a network to sign up for free, at which point the community of users then has the option of singing up for a subscription.
The company then works with transportation departments and student governments at universities and large companies, charging universities, for example, $9500 a year for the service. While that may sound like a tough sell, so far participating organizations and institutions have been enthusiastic.
To this point, Zimride is also announcing its 100th client network today, which means that Zimride networks now include each of the 10 schools in the University of California system, as well as others including Stanford, Harvard, Cornell, Facebook, and Intuit.
As the startup aims to build a nationwide marketplace for drivers looking to make a few extra bucks on those empty car seats during commutes and road trips by selling them to other passengers, the announcements today show the company is making progress in that direction. With gas prices remaining high, there is plenty of interest in carpooling as an effective means of cutting transportation costs.
To date, Zimride has raised $1.5 million from FLOODGATE, K9 Ventures, Keith Rabois, and more. For more stats, check out Zimride’s infographic below:
Lyft (previously Zimride) makes sharing rides for drivers and passengers fun and easy. It’s a new spin on ridesharing, using social networks to enable real connections. In seconds you can set up a profile, see and book a ride in your area, or post a ride of your own. With Lyft profiles, you can view photos, music and radio preferences to ensure an enjoyable ride. Lyft is building a marketplace for drivers to sell empty seats in their car by...
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