The first time I learned about rideshare was from my brother years ago. He had been using it for a long time to travel between Montreal and Ottawa. He also used it to get from Montreal to Toronto. But what was really impressive was when he showed up in Minnesota having taken a rideshare from Montreal. He paid $35 to go the 24hr journey with a group of three girls who were headed there for a music festival.

What is ride share?

Rideshare is where people can offer lifts and look for lifts. Many more people are doing this now because the cost of gas is high. Also, people will do it just for fun, if they are driving somewhere anyway they can find someone to talk to along the way. Others may use it if they are making a long trip and would like help with the driving. There are even people out there who make very good money offering rides there.

Where can I find rideshares?

The best place to find a rideshare or to post that you are looking for a ride share is craigslist. On the top left column under ‘community,’ there is section.

There are some other sites which are specific to rideshare but it depends on where you are traveling from or to. Best to do a Google search.

Is ride share safe?

I think rideshare is very safe. Most people using it are perfectly healthy and normal. If you are a guy than it’s probably never going to be a problem. As a single female you may want to travel with someone else.

With rideshare you can usually talk to the person and find out about them. Sometimes you will want to meet them or they you, if you are going on a long journey.

What is my rideshare experience?

Here are a few of them

1. Los Angeles to Portland Oregon. Traveled with a Chinese guy in his yellow sports car. I helped with some of the driving and paid $50. He was from Portland and went to LA to visit friends. He wanted some help with the driving mostly.

2. Montreal to Toronto. The guy comes to Montreal every weekend to work. He takes 4-6 paying passengers at $35 each way in his van. This means he’s making up to $420/weekend on trip he’s got to make anyway.

3. Washington DC to New Jersey. The guy was a young professional who comes down from New Jersey often for the weekend to visit his friends. Rachel and I paid $40 and he picked us up where we were staying in Silver Spring and dropped us off where we are now staying in West Orange, New Jersey. He does really need the money but enjoys it for fun to meet new and interesting people.

In all three situations I got door to door service!

I also not only like rideshare for the convenience but it is also an adventure.