safe long-distance ridesharing?
July 11, 2011 1:11 PM Subscribe
Ride-sharing on Craigslist: how to do it safely? Or should I just not?
I have a couple of long-distance-ish trips coming up. I'm pretty broke at the moment and am considering trying to find someone to ride-share with me to help cut the expense. (I'm already committed to driving to one location but might want to try to be a passenger to the other.) However, I'm a single female, and the idea of just finding a stranger on Craigslist to ride with me is a bit daunting. Is it possible to do this relatively safely? I realize there's probably no way to be 100% risk-free, but still. Also, any suggestions for vetting people? Or is there any more secure way to find someone, like a Couchsurfing-for-ride-sharers? Thanks!!
I have a couple of long-distance-ish trips coming up. I'm pretty broke at the moment and am considering trying to find someone to ride-share with me to help cut the expense. (I'm already committed to driving to one location but might want to try to be a passenger to the other.) However, I'm a single female, and the idea of just finding a stranger on Craigslist to ride with me is a bit daunting. Is it possible to do this relatively safely? I realize there's probably no way to be 100% risk-free, but still. Also, any suggestions for vetting people? Or is there any more secure way to find someone, like a Couchsurfing-for-ride-sharers? Thanks!!
Best answer: This is hard, since I'd of course feel awful if anything happened. That said, I've done rideshares at least a dozen times, and only ever had really great experiences. I'm to the point where I take them over public transportation whenever I can. That said, I'm also guy, so YMMV.
Anyway, a couple of things you might try, which I've had female friends do:
- Ask for the Facebook profile of the person driving to scope them out ahead of time. Leave word with a friend.
- Ask for the numbers of other people riding with you and call them ahead of time to pool information.
- Do you have an I-phone? Before you get in the car, snap a picture of the driver's license and e-mail it to a friend.
- Ask for references. Of course a determined weirdo could fake them, but it never hurts.
Hope that helps. Again, I've never had a bad experience. And, from what I've gathered in the stories told during trips (other ride-shares being an obvious subjects), true weirdos are rare.
posted by Karmacane at 1:59 PM on July 11, 2011
Anyway, a couple of things you might try, which I've had female friends do:
- Ask for the Facebook profile of the person driving to scope them out ahead of time. Leave word with a friend.
- Ask for the numbers of other people riding with you and call them ahead of time to pool information.
- Do you have an I-phone? Before you get in the car, snap a picture of the driver's license and e-mail it to a friend.
- Ask for references. Of course a determined weirdo could fake them, but it never hurts.
Hope that helps. Again, I've never had a bad experience. And, from what I've gathered in the stories told during trips (other ride-shares being an obvious subjects), true weirdos are rare.
posted by Karmacane at 1:59 PM on July 11, 2011
I'm a woman who's done rideshares.
The only precaution I took was to NOT indicate that I'm female in my craigslist ad and/or preliminary correspondence.
I think if you do that + facebook profile + follow your gut, you should be fine.
There are really many better ways for predators to find targets.
posted by Salamandrous at 3:28 PM on July 11, 2011
The only precaution I took was to NOT indicate that I'm female in my craigslist ad and/or preliminary correspondence.
I think if you do that + facebook profile + follow your gut, you should be fine.
There are really many better ways for predators to find targets.
posted by Salamandrous at 3:28 PM on July 11, 2011
I talked to someone who said that before she got in the car, she always asked to take a cell phone photo of the person's drivers license and send it to a friend/relative-- she'd tell the person "oh, sorry, this might seem silly, but my mom/sister/grandma worries about me doing this, so I've promised her that I'd send her your info, is it okay?" Apparently no one ever had a problem with it. YMMV, but if they got too upset about it, it would be a little telling.
posted by geegollygosh at 3:55 PM on July 11, 2011
posted by geegollygosh at 3:55 PM on July 11, 2011
Best answer: I am an older woman that has offered rides on craigslist and have not had any problems. I am very clear in my ad about what I want in a rider - no smoking in or out of my car, freshly showered, and good conversation. I am also clear about the price. After the first contact I go with my instinct. I tell them my age, 58 and they pretty much guess what kind of trip it's gonna be. I love the rideshare trend. It is a win-win for most people
posted by cairnoflore at 7:07 PM on July 11, 2011
posted by cairnoflore at 7:07 PM on July 11, 2011
I would suggest license plate too because someone could concievably show you a fake DL.
posted by sully75 at 7:55 PM on July 11, 2011
posted by sully75 at 7:55 PM on July 11, 2011
Give Divvy My Ride a look. I think it's pretty new; you can rate other drivers/riders, so there's kind of a built-in vetting process.
posted by delight at 10:27 PM on July 11, 2011
posted by delight at 10:27 PM on July 11, 2011
Best answer: Instead of responding to posts already out there, YOU should post that you need a ride. This way everyone emails the address craigslist gives out and your email is not out there. You can vet them better having their actual emails. I did some internet/facebook searches of the email addresses I received responses from. This was easy and made me feel a lot better.
I always take a picture of the car license plate before I get in the car and then text it to at least two different people with a description of the driver. I also forward any emails I have between me and the driver to the same two people. It makes me feel a little weird to take a picture of their drivers license.
About 15 minutes after you are set to meet, have someone call your phone to make sure you're ok. This way you a) let the person know you are ok b) let the driver know that other people know where you are and are expecting you to be some place at time x.
FYI, I'm a female in my mid twenties and rideshare has worked really well in the past :) Good luck!
posted by whitetigereyes at 9:46 AM on July 12, 2011
I always take a picture of the car license plate before I get in the car and then text it to at least two different people with a description of the driver. I also forward any emails I have between me and the driver to the same two people. It makes me feel a little weird to take a picture of their drivers license.
About 15 minutes after you are set to meet, have someone call your phone to make sure you're ok. This way you a) let the person know you are ok b) let the driver know that other people know where you are and are expecting you to be some place at time x.
FYI, I'm a female in my mid twenties and rideshare has worked really well in the past :) Good luck!
posted by whitetigereyes at 9:46 AM on July 12, 2011
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posted by timpanogos at 1:56 PM on July 11, 2011