Ohio University’s Ride Board, the web service that allows students, faculty and staff to find and offer rides, is getting revamped and won’t go away, according to Student Senate and OU officials.
“Senate started the Ride Board 10 years ago and it’s been on that same server since,” Senate Vice President Caitlyn McDaniel said. “That server is about to die, like, according to the OIT director, it’s being held together with gum and paper clips.”
Prospective passengers post their travel plans and arrange carpools. Access to the Ride Board requires an OU ID and password.
The Ohio University Information Technology department presented the Ride Board initiative to senate “back in the day” McDaniel said, and the service has remained a senate project ever since.
“While they were waiting on us to talk about it, they put up that message that it’s going to be taken down,” McDaniel said, clarifying that while the old system will be removed, a new one will be replacing it. The service itself isn’t going anywhere, she said.
The current Ride Board server will be discontinued at the end of this calendar year. A new Ride Board, run by senate and funded by OIT, should “switch over to the new server” and “shouldn’t be down at all.”
But “it’ll look a little bit different,” she noted.
OIT recommended that Student Senate sign up for a cloud-based forum service to replace the old Ride Board application. Sean O’Malley, the information technology communications manager, said this service will cost OIT an estimated $2,000.
At least hundreds of students have used the service even though it hasn’t been updated in a decade.
“I think Ride Board is a great service because as a freshman, I don’t know too many people with cars,” said Rebecca Cain, a freshman studying journalism. “If I want to go anywhere, either home or to visit other friends, the only other option is the GoBus. The GoBus has specific times that are not always convenient and it can get kind of expensive as well. Ride Board is more convenient and a great way to find a ride to other colleges.”
Allison Schengber, a sophomore, says she uses Ride Board as much as possible when traveling home.
“It’s trustworthy because I know I’m getting a ride with someone who is a student at OU,” Schengber said.
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