Glance around at the other drivers sitting in the traffic jam alongside you and you’ll probably notice one thing in common – the empty seats. With gas prices continuing to rocket upwards and failing public transport forcing more people onto the roads, it seems such a waste to have so much free space in each vehicle on the road.

To help solve this problem the website ridesearch.com, who requested an About My Planet ReviewMe look at their site, provide an online service to help commuters interested in carpooling find each other.

The site is simple and free to use, all users have to do is register and create a profile that contains details including the carpool route required, hours of work and driving preferences such as male or female and smoking or non–smoking car sharers .

Once a profile has been created users can search for nearby ride share routes, and if a suitable one is found, contact can be made using personal message boards, as phone numbers, real names and email addresses are all kept private until users wish to release further details to potential ride sharers. As well the privacy of information the site makes it clear that security is a top priority and also provides security tips for successful rideshares.

Ridesearch.com, however, still seems to be in its early days and doesn’t yet have many registered routes – a search within 25 miles of my home in the Chicago suburbs failed to find any other ride share routes; but to help solve that problem, the site provides downloadable flyers and leaflets should you wish to encourage your neighbors or work colleagues to sign up too.

So, spread the word and you can soon start looking forward to fewer cars on the road, less traffic jams, faster commute times, less accidents, less pollution, and of course, less of a wallop to your wallet when it’s time to fill up.