Maritime students benefit from new rideshare program

A team of entrepreneurs is launching a new rideshare program in the Maritimes this week to help university students get home for the holidays.

Nathalie Arsenault said the project, which connects university students through online posts, got pushed ahead because of the Acadian Lines lockout.

"It's affecting everybody, but particularly students. And that's who we're going to aim for this time around," said Arsenault, a Montreal-based entrepreneur who's working with a group inPrince Edward Island that's spearheading the project.

"We're going to try to offer a very simple website where people can post their rides and be able to find a ride back to where they want to go."

The website has been in the works for a couple of years and was originally slated to launch in the new year.

Jordan Thompson, student union president at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, said heexpects students will be pleased about the earlier launch.

TheAcadian Lines shutdown, which started Dec. 2, has left Maritime travellers stranded andstudents are scramblingfor alternatives, he said.

"People are hitting up friends or relatives for drives, relatives or acquaintances picking them up from universities, and some students are flying from one place to another instead of using the bus, which, as you know, is more expensive," he said.

The rideshare program will start at UNB, then roll out tothe Universitde Moncton, the University of Prince Edward Island and Dalhousie University, said Arsenault.

Free for now

It will be free, although she expectsthere will eventually be a booking fee for long-distance travel.

Arsenault hopes the people who take up the program will continue with the low-cost offering.

"Essentially what happens is when the passengers book a ride with the driver, they pay the driver the amount of gas that the driver's looking for," she said.

Given rising gas prices, Arsenault expects the rideshare program will be the cheapest option available.

The Acadian Linesshutdown has interrupted service in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, as well as part of the service in Nova Scotia and connections between Nova Scotia and Quebec.

It has also affected parcel service.

The companylocked out workers after the two sides failed to reach a new contract despite11 months of negotiations.

The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1229, which represents bus drivers, mechanics, maintenance workers and customer service representatives, voted 88 per cent to reject the latestcontract offer.

Union officials saythe wage increase of one per cent that was on the table wasnt fair to employees because it doesn't keep pace with inflation.

Acadian Lines officials says its operations in New Brunswick are losing money and they need to be more productive. It says the alternatives are cutting jobs and increasing ticket prices. The company is also looking for more flexibility in assigning drivers.