GoLoco.org helps rideshare seekers

Every day Seattleites hop in their cars ready to start another day. For a lucky few, the commute is easy. For everyone else, however, hope dims soon after they get out of their driveways.

Fortunately, modern technology and online social networks are changing the faces of traffic - or the faces of those sitting together in traffic.

GoLoco.org, an endeavor that began on Earth Day last year, is a ridesharing service that uses the Facebook network to help drivers and passengers connect and save the environment.

"The idea for real-time ridesharing has been in the dreams of transportation planners for years," said Robin Chase, GoLoco founder. "I suddenly realized that we had a confluence of technology assets and trends that made this dream possible."

Drivers and passengers can post or find trips and be alerted when there are trips they may be interested in.

Bill Pickert, a University of Washington-Bothell graduate student, found out about the site while studying transportation issues and has used it to coordinate his commute to class.

"The failure of Proposition 1 shows voters have spoken and rejected supply-side solutions for traffic," he said. "Ride sharing has huge potential for reducing cars on the road."

Using Facebook to find rides can allay safety concerns because users are able to learn about whom they are driving with before they get in the car.

"We want to give people context about people they don't yet know that they might choose to drive with, and be able to control who sees trips they post and their personal profiles," Chase said.

Pickert says the site is not only a way to network and ease traffic congestion, but help the environment while curbing costs at the same time.

GoLoco calculates gas and parking costs, the length of the trip and the type of car, along with the number of passengers, and leaves users with the number of pounds of carbon they have saved by car-pooling, he added.

"Our personal cars contribute 20 percent of the U.S. carbon emissions; (that is) the single largest thing we as individuals do to create carbon emissions," said Chase.

In a 2003 report, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the U.S. Department of Transportation reported that the average cost of owning and operating a motor vehicle was $0.53 per mile.

According to GoLoco.org, that averages out to nearly $8,000 a year and accounts for over 18 percent of American household expenditures.

Using GoLoco means passengers share costs, said Chase, and users pay online after the ride is confirmed. Funds are automatically transferred from your online account to the account of the person you rode with.

"It's really easy, you don't have to worry about haggling over money," said Pickert.

Though the Seattle network is in its beginning stages, GoLoco already has a strong following in other major cities including Boston, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco.

"People can use GoLoco in any community no matter how small," said Chase. "It is all about turning your social network into a travel network."

For Seattle that network is growing.

"We all know that one is the loneliest number, especially when you're sitting in traffic," said Pickert. "We need to reduce the load on our existing roadways if we want to reduce congestion."

Whitney Biaggi is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory and may be reached at wseditor@robinsonnews.com