The stereotypical college student is just getting by financially. In many cases, students cannot afford cars due to more pressing needs such as beer (for students over 21 only, of course) and trips to Cancun for spring break. Many ? if not most ? American college campuses have very limited parking. This prevents many students who may otherwise be able to afford a car from having one on campus.

Both financial limitations and campus parking shortages result in many students not having cars. While those students may find it easy to get around campus by foot or bicycle, students without cars rely on others when venturing very far from campus. This leads to bulletin boards full of requests for, and offers of, rides to various places as classes end for the semester or for summer, and during spring break.

Fortunately, with large colleges and universities, there are usually enough students traveling to the same area that most students are able to find rides. This is especially true in large state universities where thousands of students travel to their homes within the state. However, bulletin board rideshare matching leaves something to be desired.

Bulletin board rideshare matching involves poring over many postings, very few of which are relevant to any one student. Further, even if a student finds a match, it is unlikely that it is the most efficient available. There has to be a better way. As with so many other things, the Internet has made rideshare matching much easier, more convenient, and more efficient. RideshareOptimizer.com matches riders and drivers based on schedules, and allows drivers to minimize their driving time and distance by finding the riders requiring the shortest detours from the drivers main path.

RideshareOptimizer.com accomplishes this task by first finding riders and drivers whose trips have similar schedules, origins, and destinations. It then calculates the difference in distance and travel time between each driver's origin and destination, and the distance and travel time involved in picking up and dropping off a rider. Drivers are presented with a list of potential riders ordered by additional time or distance required. Similarly, riders are presented with a a list of potential drivers - also ordered by additional time or distance required.