UMaryland Rideshare Carpooling FAQs

Who can use UMaryland Rideshare?

The University of Maryland's ridematching system can be accessed by anyone possessing an UMID, whether student, employee, or faculty member. UMaryland Rideshare must be accessed through the UMB authentication portal, with all users agreeing to transfer specified data (first and last name, UMID, and role) to the RideShark third party site.

The UMID is a common ID that enables you to access many campus applications with the same username and password. More information about the UMID can be found here.

Is UMaryland Rideshare available to other users besides University of Maryland students, staff, or faculty?

No, no one besides students, staff, or faculty can access the program.

What are the benefits of carpooling?

Carpooling lets you share the cost of driving; it provides you with company for your commute and saves you money. It is often the perfect solution for commuters located far from their worksite or without access to transit service. In some families carpooling to work avoids the need for a second car.

Is there a charge to use UMaryland Rideshare?

There is no charge to use UMaryland Rideshare.

Why is UMaryland Rideshare one of the most advanced ridesharing programs in the world?

UMaryland Rideshare uses state-of-the-art geocoding technology, searches for matches along a route from your origin to your destination, and offers extensive user-controlled search defining abilities. It defaults to searches within specified groups and maximizes accessibility and usability for users.

How do I register with UMaryland Rideshare?

Registering with UMaryland Rideshare is fast, easy and simple. Follow these easy steps:

First time users:

  • Log into the University of Maryland student or faculty portal and click on the UMaryland Rideshare link. Or log in with your University of Maryland student or faculty email address and password using the 'login' form above.
  • You must accept the Terms & Conditions before proceeding to the program. Click 'I ACCEPT the Terms and Conditions'.
  • Create your user profile. Enter your personal profile information such as gender, driver or passenger preference, etc.
  • Enter your address information, including:
    • Home address
    • Carpooling origin address (if different from your home address)
    • Destination (work) address
  • The system will confirm your origin and destination on a map. The system may correct an incorrect postal code (note that some work postal codes correspond to a central mailing system rather than the actual address of the building so the system will 'correct' your entry to correspond to the actual physical address of the location you entered).
  • If the system doesn't recognize the address, you will be able to select your location on a clickable map. Drag your cursor across the screen to move the map or zoom in/out with the “+” or “-“ buttons.
  • Define your travel schedule.
  • Select 'Search for matches'
  • The system will return a list of potential carpool partners, based on your defined search criteria. You may modify or change any of this data to better narrow down your search.
  • To contact a person from your matchlist, select “email this person”. The email is sent from you to the contact directly from UMaryland Rideshare. The contact is then able to reply directly to you. This is the methodology that systems such as Ebay use to communicate between a buyer and a seller.
  • Indicate if you are looking for a carpool partner or walking, biking or transit buddy.

Registered Users:

  • Login through the form above using your University of Maryland student or faculty email address and password.
  • Start searching
  • Contact people from your matchlist

How does UMaryland Rideshare find carpool matches?

UMaryland Rideshare is one of the most advanced ridematching systems in existence today. Your origin and destination are geocoded to a corresponding latitude and longitude coordinate. A ‘route’ from your origin to work is evaluated. The system will match within a user-defined distance from your origin, destination and along your route.

What if I don't want other people to 'find' me in searches because I've found a carpool partner or I'm not able to carpool right now?

Simply click on the "Personal Profile" button, and then uncheck the button that says "I am actively looking for a carpool partner".

Is my information private?

Yes. Rest assured that all of your data is secured to a very high level using the same technologies that on-line banking and major on-line merchants utilize. No information provided during registration will be provided to any external agency at any time. For monitoring purposes aggregate data only will be used to evaluate and assess the ridematching system.

What about car insurance?

Personal or corporate vehicle insurance is dependent upon your policy. Therefore it is strongly recommended that you check with your insurance provider prior to initiating any carpool. UMaryland Rideshare assumes no responsibility for insurance issues.

What if I don't find a match?

First, make sure you've tried adjusting your search settings. The default setting searches within 2 kilometers from where you live or work or 2 kilometers along your route. You can expand or reduce these search distances as necessary. If you still don't find a match, try searching again in a week or two. It takes a while to build up registrants in the database so don't give up if you're not immediately successful.

Will encouraging carpooling reduce transit use?

UMaryland Rideshare is all about improving the travel options for commuters. Typically carpoolers are those whose origin, destination or working hours are not conducive to using transit. There have been no known studies that demonstrate a correlation between a ridematching system and reduced transit use. In fact, when more options are available to commuters some may find that by carpooling on some days they are more likely to use transit on the days they don't carpool. A ridematching system provides increased opportunities for carpooling only.

Who do I contact if I have comments or general questions?

Email   with any technical problems, comments, or questions.

What is RideShark Corporation?

RideShark Corporation is the developer of the UMaryland Rideshare application and hosts the application database. RideShark Corporation is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner.