Everyone knows how difficult it can be trying to get from place to place while at college. And not just from class to class, or even downtown! (There are buses for that.) I mean from city to city, whether it be to visit family, go to a concert, or spend a mini-vacation with your friends. Here in Syracuse University there is a not-so-convenient bulletin board in Schine that allows students to post little slips of paper that are either blue or orange depending on whether a person needs a ride or can give a ride to another person. I believe this system can be improved upon.
My entrepreneurial idea consists of creating an online database in which students can log on and post their information instead of relying on little slips of paper that hopefully someone going in the same direction at the same time will read. Not so likely. This website (called Transport Orange, or some other cool title involving a Syracuse label) will be split up into two parts for those seeking rides and those giving them, respectively. Regardless, each person logging on to their website would create their own profile that displays basic information, such as name, contact information, and trip-related specifics (such as how much they are willing to pitch in for gas, etc.).
The split in the website is necessary to keep a barrage of random information being thrown at everyone at the same time. Those students willing to drive would include things like their type of transportation, how many seats they have available, when they are available (be it weekly or just for one trip), and where they are going. A road map would also be included on the site where drivers would map out their route so those seeking rides could see which path was being taken and how long the path would take. Students in need of a ride would post where they wish to go and when they need to go. Perhaps they could receive emails when a person has posted that they are driving to or through where they want to end up. Overall I think it would be a much better system than hand-written, cut-out sheets of blue and orange paper on an out-of-the-way bulletin board.
