It’s TransLink Ride-Share Week from October 4-8, 2010!

You can win fabulous prizes this week just by signing up at ride-share.com, the free ride-matching database from Jack Bell Ride-Share. There’s Chevron gas coupons, B.C. Ferries ferry vouchers, and a grand prize of two VIA Rail tickets through the Rockies in sleeper class, worth $2500!

If you’re curious for more about ridesharing, have a look at the video above to learn more about the service. You can also check out Jen’s real-life ridesharing story from last year.

And this week, I’ll have a few more ridesharing stories to help show everyone how it works in the real world.

What are the benefits? Well, here’s just a few:

• Ridesharing can save you money! Check out the 2010 CAA Car Costs brochure: if you drive 18,000 km a year, the annual cost of driving a small sedan is $8,524, a minivan is $11,590, and a hybrid is $8,808. You can offset some of this cost if you share the ride with someone.
• Since it takes cars off the road, ridesharing can cut down emissions and traffic congestion.
• Ridesharing provides a faster alternative if you live somewhere with less than stellar transit access.
• Having someone around relieves boredom on a long drive. As well, you can sometimes take a nap while someone else drives (a ridesharer I interviewed once said this was the chief reason he loved ridesharing :)
• You might just make a friend!

Anyway, with ride-share.com, you can organize a regular carpool or a casual rideshare a few times a week. You can also do one-time rideshares to specific events like concerts. The site also provides company portals, so if you’re an employee of, say, eBay, you can just look for ridematches within your own company.

Sign up to rideshare, or just sign up your existing rideshare arrangement so other people can join your group. All of you plus the current ridesharers will be entered to win the gas cards and ferry passes!

As well, check out Miss604’s Ride-Share Week contest for another way to win!