App aims to make ride sharing easier

College students looking to share a ride for a weekend getaway, a trip home or a spring break vacation now have a new option from a Purdue University-affiliated startup.

A group of students from the School of Industrial Engineering in Purdue's College of Engineering created UniRide – a ride-booking app for college students.

"We like to call this the ultimate ride-sharing app for students," said Zurum Okereke, one of the founders of UniRide. "We give students a new option to share long-distance trips with other students. It not only saves time, money and environmental impact, but helps students form connections with others who may be from their hometown or have similar interests."

Students looking to be drivers or riders would visit the UniRide website or the app store to download the app. They can then see who might be heading on a trip in the same direction and connect via the app. The free UniRide app also lets users review drivers and find shared interests, such as music or sports, with other students.

"We are excited to launch here at Purdue and connect students in this shared economy with others who understand what it's like to be in college," said Okereke, who also is working toward a degree in economics in Purdue's Krannert School of Management.