Transportation Wednesdays: Ride-sharing at Ridejoy.com

Recently we spoke with Jason Shen, co-founder of the site Ridejoy.com, an interactive community for people sharing rides across the country.  Whether you’re a passenger, or a driver, you are able to search to find your matches while also posting your own ride request or ride offer.  Users are able to connect through Facebook, and also share pictures, mutual friends, work, and education history. This enables people to message other passengers or drivers to make sure they have found a good fit. Once a match has been found, there is a credit card payment setup, or the customer may pay with cash.   This revolutionary system uses modern technology to connect people to their destinations.

The company was inspired by a personal experience Shen and his business partner, Calvin, had been through.  When they moved to San Francisco,they needed a third roommate they knew they would actually connect and get along with.  Consequently, they began a website for the two of them and spread it through social networks, where they found Randy, their third roommate, and eventual great friend.  Thereafter, they realized they wanted to build something new. That something they were both equally passionate about – travel.  Transportation networks (like ones Calvin had seen in east Africa) as they related to road trips and long distance travel made sense to the young enthusiasts.  Thus, ride-sharing.One of Ridejoy.com’s top priorities is safety. Thousands of people have been using this ride-sharing tool without any problems.  This is mainly due to users’ ability to connect through facebook and check out any information they would want to be aware of.  Moreover, users are able to see reviews and feedback that is staged within the system.  Ridejoy also has a monitoring system for suspicious activity.

Overall, Shen is very excited about all of what Ridejoy.com has become. “It gets crazy when you’re a small team and you have to handle everything,” he says. “We were working out of the kitchen for the longest time – elbow to elbow.” We look forward to following RideJoy as they grow to the east coast and using them for upcoming trips.