BYU’s new online ride board, Zimride, has grown quickly since it was introduced this April, but still has lots of room to grow.
Zimride was introduced five months ago as an alternative to the old ride board located downstairs in the Wilkinson Student Center. It was used for students to find rides, or drivers to find riders, for trips and commutes.
“Students love it,” Alisa Johansson said. “They think it’s absolutely the best solution for finding rides.”
Johansson works as the assistant to Brian Evans, the chief financial officer and administrative vice president of BYU.
“Students will still need to be careful, but this is so much safer than the (old) ride board,” Johansson said. “One of the great things here is that to post or view a ride you have to first sign in through BYU’s system.”
Nearly 3,000 students have already registered with Zimride through BYU since the program was made available to students.
“Obviously, it has been a great hit with students,” said Nelson Merrill, the student sustainability assistant. “Students are always looking for ways to cut costs, and Zimride is a cheap and effective way to save money, without being trapped to the confines of Provo.”
Natalie Palmieri, a sophomore majoring in pre-nursing, found out about Zimride this summer and has used the service several times to travel back and forth to Idaho.
“The company was really nice and didn’t charge me too much for gas,” Palmieri said. “If you want to get somewhere or go on a weekend trip, I would definitely recommend it.”
So far students have saved $123,000 in gas according to Zimride’s site metrics.
“There is always someone who needs a ride, and if not a ride, then extra cash for gas money,” Johansson said.
The service has received great reviews from students, and, according to Johansson, the service will only get better as more students register.
“It’s not like we’re hurting,” Johansson said. “But the more people that register, the more rides will be posted and the more students there will be that find ways to get to where they need to be.”
As for the old ride board, it was disassembled last June and sold at a BYU surplus auction for $50.
