Lacking intentional community? Look no further than Taylor University Ride Share.
Taylor University Ride Share is a Facebook group intended for all Taylor students. This Facebook group is accepting all current Taylor students and parents of Taylor students. It is a mutually beneficial group for students seeking rides and students who are able to provide them.
The group is gaining more traction as it nears its one year anniversary on Oct. 26. Last year sophomore Hanna Lichacz noticed there were a bunch of people who live in the Chicago area, yet she couldn’t find a ride home.
With 826 registered student cars on campus and 2,145 students on campus, not every student has a car, but there are enough seats for everyone to get home for the holidays.
Those students who already have a ride on campus may be wondering why they should get involved.
For drivers it is the promise of a travel companion, someone to pitch in for gas and afterwards another familiar face on campus.
It is a unique experience to ride in the car with someone you don’t know very well for three or four hours and get to hear their story, junior Grace Tolentino said.
Taylor Ride Share is an easy way to live out servant leadership here on campus.
“It's definitely worth it and I think that it is a small way that we as upperclassmen can reach out and connect with the underclassmen specifically,” Tolentino said.
Senior Rachel Davidovitch also found that Ride Share was a simple way to reach out and get to know freshmen on campus who don’t have cars.
Davidovitch said that it is nice to have the community in the car because it makes the drive go quicker and the passenger is usually more than willing to pitch in for gas.
Typically the driver will post when and where they are traveling and how many seats they have available. Then, people who are in search for rides can respond and claim their spot.
“I have a typical location I always meet people at once we get to Columbus, so I will always let them know the address and they can let their family know where they can pick them up,” Davidovitch said. “It's just kind of a little system and they give me some gas money. I've never asked for it but everyone's just really giving.”
The most common trips taken off campus are home.
Tolentino said that it is really cool to connect with people who grew up in the same region as you and compare childhood stories.
Lichacz said she contemplated creating her own Taylor Ride Share page, but Leslie Zander, mother of sophomore Grace Zander, beat her to it.
“I created Taylor University Ride Share group because I saw a need for it,” Zander wrote. “I thought it was a good idea to create a specific Facebook group that both parents AND students could join.”
The group was spearheaded by parents who wanted their kids home for the holidays.The parents used to coordinate all the rides for their kids until after Fall Break of 2018 when the parents decided to hand the responsibility back to the students.
Before the creation of this Facebook group, the parents were coordinating rides for their kids on the Taylor University Current Parents Facebook group. It became exastusting and excessive for the parents to keep up. That is when the idea to create a group where the students could take responsibility for their own rides was born.
“I love to see so many Taylor students and parents stepping up to help each other but I really would expect nothing less from the Taylor community,” Zander said.
Join the Taylor University Ride Share group today to find your next travel partner. Who knows? Maybe they will have good snacks.
