Ridepost.com to offer cheap transportation
A new ride sharing program beginning in August will give USC students a new option for inexpensive travel.
RidePost, the joint brainchild of USC graduates Marty Bauer, Blair Deckard, Nik Budisavljevic and Robert Pearce, will allow students to connect with one another through a website. Students can log in to RidePost.com using Facebook, and drivers can post trips or users can search for existing rides.
Bauer, Deckard and Budisavljevic became fast friends in the Moore School’s IMBA program in 2010. They fell in love with traveling but soon discovered the strain of getting around on a college budget.
“Every weekend in Germany we were traveling somewhere different, and in about a month it got really expensive,” Bauer said. “When we wanted to travel to a small town in France, my friend suggested we try a rideshare program.”
Though Bauer was hesitant at first to catch rides around Europe from complete strangers, he now calls the rideshare program in Germany an amazing experience.
“We got to see a completely different side of the world that I wouldn’t have been able to see without ride sharing,” Bauer said.
When they returned to South Carolina, Bauer, Deckard and Budisavljevic coalesced around the idea of a rideshare program for U.S. students. After working on the idea in class, they began to bring it to fruition. Pearce, a web developer who was working in Charleston at the time, joined the team last spring, and the four have been inseparable since.
“We all had opportunities to get jobs elsewhere, but we thought, why not give this a try,” Bauer said.
They were given the chance to set up headquarters at The Iron Yard in Greenville, S.C., where they now live and work full-time developing the program.
USC is RidePost’s first customer and market, and the website already has a couple hundred people signed up to be a part of the initial launch. Select users will test it over the next few weeks, and the site will be ready for use when students return for fall semester.
Bauer said Rideshare could be a solution to parking issues on campus, a major concern for parents and prospective students. Many universities are pushing to reduce the number of cars on campus.
Student Government met with RidePost’s leaders and brought the program to campus, free of cost.
“They tailored it to us and for the needs of Columbia,” said Student Body President Kenny Tracy. “It was built from the ground up to help USC students.”
Craigslist has a similar set-up to offer and receive rides, but because it’s an anonymous transaction, users are often uncomfortable about the potential outcome. Bauer promises RidePost will be more transparent and more social.
“We’re focusing very aggressively on safety,” Bauer said. “It’s our No. 1 priority.”
RidePost’s services will complement Connect by Hertz, USC’s joint car rental program.
“Travel has changed all of us for the better,” said Bauer. “We’re really passionate about changing the way people [travel], making it more accessible and reducing costs.”