Save on Gas: Find a Carpool Online

Do gas prices drive you crazy? It is OK to go loco, as long as you GoLoco.org—a social network that is the brainchild of Robin Chase, the former CEO of Zip Car.

Chase tells MainStreet that GoLoco.org was built on three simple premises: To save money on gas, to help the environment by reducing carbon emissions and to connect likeminded people. GoLoco.org offers "drivers" and "passengers" the opportunity to share costs, trips and perhaps, good conversation.

Chase wants people to have a solid handle on how much it actually costs to own and maintain a car. According to the Department of Labor's Bureau of Statistics, the average person spends close to 18% of their Average Annual Household Expenditure on car ownership and operating expenses. Consider this: If a Prius transmissions (gas-electric hybrids) goes kaput, the resulting damage can cost around $8,700 to repair. That's a lot of moolah.

Other mounting concerns for the American driver are congestion pricing, parking pricing and carbon taxes. (See Glossary Below*)

HOW TO FIGHT THESE EXPENSES
Begin by developing an online profile. GoLoco in turn keeps track of how good a passenger you are with message boards to rate you. It also monitors how much CO2 you jettisoned by not driving by yourself. Mark Chase, Robin's brother who does not own a car, is also in on the plan. His profile denotes that he has taken 17 trips and saved 364 lbs of CO2. Mark uses GoLoco to attend a Contra Dancing group that is out of state. That’s nothing though compared to Seth Davis, who is "GoLoco's One Ton User."