There is a new service to help students find rides to and from campus. It is called Be Your Own Bus, which is a Facebook application with the purpose of bringing people who need a ride together with those who can give them one.

The concept is simple: University students who are going places or returning to campus can post the time they are leaving and the place they are going, so other students can buy a spot in their car. This makes it possible for students who have cars to make money and gives others the opportunity to save money by finding cheap rides, said the site’s founders.

Drivers can post rides to and from anywhere and may charge whatever rate they please, according to BeYourOwnBus.com. However, the prices generally range between $10 and $30 per ride.

Anson Wu and Harish Tella, founders of the site, said they hope to expand its use.

“We have a vision in mind,” Wu said. “My guess is 30 percent of students have cars, and because it is completely efficient to carpool, there is a lot of potential to eliminate unnecessary driving.”

Wu and Tella graduated from the University last August with degrees in architecture and computer science, respectively. They said they do not have much business experience, but they are not in it for the money. The site costs its users nothing and does not have any advertisements, which means there is no revenue for its founders.

“We started the site to do something about the environment,” Tella said. “…But the coolest thing is meeting new people while saving or making money and saving the planet simultaneously.”

Wu and Tella launched the site one month ago, and it is still in the preliminary phases. The founders said approximately four or five round trips have been posted each weekend since the site’s launch.

“The site is by no means done,” Tella said. “Once more people start using the site, we hope to add rider reviews and more room for information, such as the makes and models of the cars.”

In addition to the price, the following elements are included on the Web site: the number of seats available, starting point, departure time, destination and any notes the driver wishes to post.

Be Your Own Bus is endorsed by the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District and the Illinois Green Business Association. Its ads can be seen on many of MTD’s largest buses running on campus, said Jan Kijowski, marketing director for MTD.

“Be Your Own Bus is a non-profit organization.” Kijowski said. “Placing their ads on the buses is part of MTD’s ongoing mission to promote alternative transportation.”

Despite the ad campaign, many students are still not familiar with the service.

“I’ve never heard of Be Your Own Bus,” said Jenna Weinstein, junior in Education. “But rides to and from campus can be pretty expensive, and if there were a cheaper way to get places I would definitely be interested.”

The Web site does not have any supervision of its drivers, and many students may be concerned about its reliability.

“We believe in the students,” Wu said. “And because our service is on Facebook, it is more personal than other sites and allows users to see each other’s profiles before they get in the car together.”

Some students said they are open to giving the site a chance.

“I drive people home all the time,” said Al Newman, sophomore in LAS. “And if I have space in my car, I would put it on Be Your Own Bus because it’s an easy way to make money and a nice way to meet new people.”

Wu and Tella said they understand the transition from an Internet post to an actual ride is the key to the site. They said they consider the transition to be a strength of the Web site, however, not a weakness.

“Most things online lead you to do other things online,” Tella said. “Be Your Own Bus is different because it gets you outside to meet people in the real world.”