I love travelling so you can imagine my disappointment when I discovered that my local train station would be closed for five months. The public transport in my area is very bad because everyone prefers to drive. Unfortunately I do not have a car but I realised that I could start carpooling with people who use their cars often.
Carpooling is when a driver offers to take passengers in exchange for some money for petrol. As a result, carpooling can be a cheaper alternative to public transport because everyone in the car shares the cost of petrol. I recently did carpooling for the first time and it was very easy to find a driver. I used a website which lists drivers' profiles and found someone who was going to the same destination as me. The profiles provided a lot of information such as their first name, age and gender as well as reviews from previous passengers. I decided to travel with a lady who had very good reviews. I paid for my share of the petrol through the website and arranged to meet her in the town centre.
It may seem quite scary to travel with a stranger but there are some safety measures. Firstly, the driver cannot receive your money until you text them a code at the end of your journey. This means that if you are unsatisfied with your trip, the driver will not be paid. Secondly, it is important to read all the drivers' profiles before choosing who you want to travel with. You can read the reviews and decide if you prefer travelling with a younger or older man or woman. If you have any doubts then you should not choose to travel with that person and continue reading other people's profiles until you find somebody you like. Lastly, I would recommend travelling with a friend so there is a familiar face in the car.
I had a very good experience carpooling. Not only was the trip very cheap, but the driver and the other passengers were really friendly. They were all French so I had the chance to practise speaking some French. Carpooling could be the future of travel. As train and petrol prices are rising, both drivers and passengers can benefit from this cheaper form of travel. However, perhaps more importantly, carpooling provides a fantastic opportunity to meet interesting people on your travels.
