http://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2015/08/watch-out-uber-seniors-bring-free-rides-to-duke
Watch out Uber: Seniors bring free rides to Duke
By Sarah Kerman | August 26 2015
[image
http://media.dtc.s3.amazonaws.com/16966_buzz_ridesf.jpg
Seniors Cameron Winders and JD Herrman are bringing a program to campus
that
provides free rides using electric vehicles.
]
Starting Wednesday, students will be able to get free rides around
Duke’s
campus and into Durham using electric-powered vehicles, thanks to a
start-up
by two Duke students.
Seniors Cameron Winders and JD Herrman are launching the initiative,
called
Buzz Rides. The service will operate at Duke by offering a smartphone
app
for students to request rides in a windowless electric vehicle
Wednesday
through Saturday from 9:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Winders’ friend Parker
Draughon, a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
founded Buzz Rides two years ago at UNC and is now helping Winders and
Herrman bring the service to Duke.
Instead of charging users for rides, Buzz Rides will place
advertisements on
its cars in order to generate revenue. Winders noted that in addition
to
improving safety and sustainability, one of Buzz Rides’ major goals is
to
increase the interaction between the University and the Durham
community by
giving students a less expensive way to travel off-campus.
“I think it’s just a lot of fun,” Winders said. “The taxi experience
right
now is just a means of getting somewhere, but when you actually see the
[Buzz Rides] vehicles, they look exciting. The cars are wrapped well,
it’s
more of an interaction and it’s a lot of fun to ride in these
six-seater
electric vehicles versus a normal car.”
Duke Buzz Rides has already contracted with the Durham County
Department of
Public Health on an anti-smoking ad campaign—a partnership that will
help
cover the operational cost, Winders noted. Herrman and Winders said
they are
hoping to collaborate with Duke Student Government and Greek
organizations
to help increase awareness of the brand among students. Winders added
that
he hopes Buzz Rides will receive funding from the University at some
point
in the future.
Buzz Rides differs from other taxi and car share services primarily in
that
it is free of charge for riders, Herrman explained. Because the
students
will not operate Buzz Rides as a car for hire, employees do not require
a
commercial driving license, making it easier to recruit new drivers.
However, drivers must be over 21 for insurance purposes, he noted.
Prior to rolling out the service, Herrman and Winders said they are
working
through several challenges—including optimizing the driving route,
gaining
student awareness of the brand and ensuring that there will be demand
during
operating hours. They have already communicated with the Durham Police
Department and other transportation authorities to let them know that
the
service provided by Buzz Rides is legal, Herrman said.
The two seniors acknowledged that Uber is a major competitor to Buzz
Rides,
though Winders said he thinks Buzz Rides will maintain a competitive
advantage because it is free to students.
Currently, Buzz Rides at Duke owns two vehicles with seatbelts and
doors but
no windows. Initially, only one vehicle will serve students at a time.
Winders explained that because the vehicles are fully electric, their
charge
will not last the entire evening, a limitation that Winders said is one
reason the company will not significantly impact taxi businesses at its
initial launch.
“We don’t really envision it being that much of a takeaway from taxis
at
this point,” Winders said. “Once we get our name out there and start
advertising more and maybe get some money from the administration, then
we
can scale up and get more vehicles.”
Herrman said he and Winders plan to keep the organization student-run
like
it is at UNC. They plan to hire two additional people to deal with
operations, special events, marketing and app improvement. Herrman
noted
that because both he and Winders are seniors, it is important to keep
longevity in mind as they move forward with Buzz Rides’ operations.
“We want to change the way Duke does transportation, so it’s not like
we
want to have this for one year and then say ‘Alright, that was great,’”
Herrman said. “We want this to continually be something that is run by
students and will always be there for students.”
[© 2015 Duke Student Publishing]
...
http://buzzrides.com/
BuzzRides: an affordable, safe, and exciting way to transport UNC
students
from one place to another while staying “green.”
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