Is there a safe way to find passengers?

August 8, 2019 3:35 AM

I need to go to Chicago to see a friend before they die and would prefer to drive. I would love to have someone go with me to share the driving (and gas!). There are websites for everything but I can't find anything that helps me find a passenger. There has to be something better than just a Craigslist ad, right?
posted by chartreuse to Travel & Transportation (6 answers total)

In my local area there’s a facebook group for people looking for rides or passengers. You could try searching for your local area + ride share or something like that.
posted by Balthamos at 4:29 AM on August 8, 2019

Do you have a college or university near you with a ride board on their classified ads' college newspaper or website? I'm not sure how thoroughly you can vet anyone you find, but it seems as if it would be somewhat safer and more efficient to search for somone already looking for a ride to Chicago than the other way around.
posted by Elsie at 4:29 AM on August 8, 2019

You've probably done this already, but have you asked your friends? I'd split the driving/gas for a roadtrip to Chicago with a friend if my schedule were free for a couple of days. (Source: has driven NY-CA with a friend for the adventure of it).
posted by TwoStride at 5:34 AM on August 8, 2019 [1 favorite]

I got a notification on Couchsurfing the other day in which someone posted their upcoming roadtrip as an event which others could join. They had their general route mapped out and offered to pick up along the way.
posted by notquitemaryann at 6:57 AM on August 8, 2019

I've seen postings of this nature on NextDoor before.
posted by jabes at 11:04 AM on August 8, 2019

There may be an app (I know BlaBlaCar does this in Europe), but I wouldn't completely rule out Craigslist's rideshare section. You can ask someone to share their social media profiles, etc, when you vet them as a passenger. I've definitely used it many times and I'm fairly risk-averse in general...
posted by pinochiette at 3:26 PM on August 8, 2019