Zimride’s Top 10 Road Trip Movies

Happy Memorial Day weekend, Zimriders! With summer around the corner and a holiday on Monday, this weekend is perfect for a road trip. San Diego, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles are just a few of the awesome driving destinations this weekend on Zimride.

To toast Memorial Day weekend we bring you our Top 10 Road Trip Movies* of all time. Enjoy and safe (+shared) travels!

1. Planes, Trains & Automobiles – John Candy and Steve Martin in a John Hughes film…enough said.
2. Rain Man – On a Zimride with Charlie Babbitt, pit stops to catch Judge Wapner on People’s Court are a must.
3. Little Miss Sunshine – This family flick is just as funny as it is heartfelt.
4. Thelma & Louise – Female bonding at its finest.
5. Sideways – After Miles famously refused to drink merlot, U.S. sales of the varietal actually dropped.
6. Easy Rider – Don’t miss the soundtrack in this classic biker movie. R.I.P. Dennis Hopper.
7. Dumb & Dumber – “We got no food, no jobs…our pets’ heads are falling off!”
8. The Motorcycle Diaries – A young Che Guevara hits the road on his motocicleta.
9. Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas – Hunter S. Thompson’s psychedelic desert trek to find the American Dream.
10. Cars – We love a good Pixar film…especially one with talking Cars!

Happy Road Trippin!

The Zimride Crew

*Top 10 Road Trip movies not titled “Road Trip.” (Although we love that one, it’s a little too easy.)

All photos courtesy of MGM. They make awesome movies!

Zimride – April Fool’s Launch

Since founding Zimride in 2007 we have focused on improving transportation options by building a social rideshare community. We knew that eventually we’d have to expand our focus and move beyond cars. Around the same time that Zimride was born we also created another ridesharing platform, but since we were so focused on Zimride we decided to hold off on launching it. Due to changes in the economy and the general shift toward alternative forms of transportation we believe that now is the ideal time to launch our newest product: Zimbike.

You may have heard of bike sharing projects in Portland, D.C. and even Paris. Community bikesharing is a great way to get more people biking, but we believe that there is still substantial room for improvement. On an average ride, over 80% of the bike goes un-used by a solo biker and tandem bikes are too large for commuters in crowded cities. Today, we’re proud to introduce Zimbike—a revolutionary new way to save money, make friends, and share the ride.

Check out our launch video and help us spread the word.

Life is better when you share the ride.

– Logan & John

Zimride Tip #2: Show Off Your Ride!

Zimride is a marketplace for open seats, so it’s important to stand out to attract passengers. Today’s tip is how to add style into your ride post.  Like Zimride Tip #1, it’s important to put your best face forward by showing off your personal flare to the Zimride Community.

 

1. Share Where You’re Going: Google maps does a great job showing routes, but it doesn’t showcase your road trip itinerary. Mention if you plan to stop by an In & Out (to attract newbies to cheeseburger deliciousness) or have a favorite place you always visit for a caffeine break.

2. Explain How Much Space You Have In Your Car: Tell your potential passengers if you have enough space for luggage as some Zimriders like to carry a suitcase or two when they go on a road trip. For Zimriders heading to Tahoe, be sure to say if you have space for gear like skis and snowboards.

3. Let Zimriders Know If You’re Animal Friendly: Some Zimriders like to travel with their furry friends. Definitely share on your ride post if you’re willing to be a trendsetter and allow passengers to bring a cat or dog along for the ride.

4. Show Off Your Ride!: You don’t need to be on Pimp My Ride to show off your car. Check out how Zimrider Rideshare Mark shows off his ride to his potential Zimriders:

Visit Rideshare Mark’s Facebook Page

Stay tuned for more useful tips from Zimride on this blog or ask us for help directly at support@zimride.com.

Happy Travels,
Your Zimride Crew

Stories from the Road – It’s a Small World After All

Meet Eva. She’s a student at Washington State University. She sent us an incredible story about her first experience using Zimride and the moment she realized it really is a small world after all.

I posted on Zimride because I needed a ride from Pullman, WA to the Spokane Airport to fly home to California for Thanksgiving Break. A University of Idaho student named Ethan responded and drove me and another young woman to the airport.

On the ride to Spokane, Ethan and I got to talking. It turns out he is from a town about an hour away from my hometown in California, and he was headed to the airport to pick up his dad. We were talking about the differences between California, Washington, and Idaho, and I told him that my grandparents have a cabin in Idaho.

Turns out that Ethan had spent the summer backpacking around there with some friends. I was supposed to go with my family over the summer, but had to work while the rest of my family went up. Ethan started to tell me about how he and his friends ran out of food and decided to hitchhike back to their cars.

I smiled and said to him, “if my grandpa had seen you, he would have picked you up because he has an affinity for hitchhikers and loves hearing their stories.” When Ethan started to describe the nice man that picked them up, I was shocked. It turns out, the man who was kind enough to give them a ride WAS my grandpa. In fact, my grandpa brought Ethan and his friends back to our cabin for dinner and they met my whole family. After hearing this, I immediately called my grandpa and he was astonished and delighted to hear who I was sitting next to.

Thank you Eva for sharing your amazing story! Your Zimride experience is the kind that inspires us to grow the Zimride community to help make the world more connected.

If you have a story that you want to share, please send your Zimride Story from the Road to community@zimride.com!

-Your Zimride Crew

Stories from the Road – Nerding Out

I split my time between LA and SF, driving from one to the other about every three weeks. Before I discovered Zimride, I’d try to carpool with friends, but our schedules hardly ever lined up. So I was spending lots of money on gas, feeling like an environmental disaster, and driving alone most of the time.

Zimride has made my commute so much better. It’s such a user-friendly and efficient system. I hardly have to spend time finding riders, and I can always find people whose schedules match mine. Plus most of the people are friendly, interesting, and care about the world. Really, I’ve been surprised and pleased that almost everyone has been fun, creative, and interesting to talk to.

I once drove with a young art student who was as excited as I was to nerd out about performance-art theory and how the art world works. Recently, I had a great time driving this guy who was into a lot of the same music as me. And another rider turned me on to the podcast “How Did This Get Made?”, which is ridiculous and hilarious. I’ve had so many memorable rides and met so many cool people thanks to Zimride — it has truly made my life better.

A big thank you to Jessica for her story. Make sure to read the other stories from Harmony, Jane, and Julianna. If you have a story that you want to share, please send your Story from the Road to community@zimride.com!

– Your Zimride Crew