Well, if you haven’t heard already, TransLink Ride-Share Week starts today! We’re encouraging everyone in Metro Vancouver to rideshare whenever possible, and we’re giving away over 300 prizes if you use ride-share.com—a free online ride-matching database—from October 6-10.

To get a little attention, we kicked things off with a free Spirit of the West lunchtime concert in downtown Vancouver. Staff were on hand to help people sign up at ride-share.com, and I got Vince Ditrich, Geoffrey Kelly, and John Mann from the band to talk a little about their ridesharing experience:

(much thanks to Kris Krug for the camera work!)

So what’s ridesharing? And how do you find a ride?

Ridesharing is also known as carpooling—it’s when two or more people commute together in the same vehicle, or “sharing the ride.” We’re behind this because it’s part of TransLink’s mandate to encourage transport alternatives and reduce congestion on the roads. (It’s a whole line of work called Transportation Demand Management, or TDM.)

It’s easy to get started with ridesharing in Metro Vancouver. Sign up at ride-share.com to offer or find a ride. The site was developed by Jack Bell Ride-Share, a local non-profit organization dedicated to providing rideshare services in B.C. (TransLink helps fund Jack Bell Ride-Share, but Jack Bell is an independent group.)

The database is really easy to use, and you can organize a formal vanpool or a casual rideshare a few times a week. Jack Bell even provides the vehicles for the formal ridesharing arrangements.

Win BC Ferries tickets, Blenz gift cards, and more!

Plus, if you rideshare through ride-share.com this week, you could win one of over 300 prizes donated by our sponsors. New and old site members will be eligible to win travel tickets from BC Ferries, gift cards from Blenz Coffee, tickets for BC Lions games, and Chevron gas coupons.

So give ridesharing a try: sign up at ride-share.com!

And if you’ve got anything to share about ridesharing or your ridesharing experience, we’d love to hear about it. Post your thoughts in the comments below!