Lifts and carpools: sharing a ride to the airport, the city or a big event within 50 km

Every morning, thousands of cars leave the same towns for the same places with empty seats. Every week, someone needs to get to the airport at 5am, or back from a concert in the city after the last bus. The 50 km room puts the two together. It's a conversation with everyone within 50 km of you, which happens to be the scale of most shared journeys: the airport run, the commute to the industrial park, the trip to the city, the ride to a festival an hour away. This article is about sharing lifts and carpools in the 50 km room: how to offer a seat, how to ask for one, how to sort out the details, and how to stay safe.

Why lifts belong in the 50 km room

A lift inside your town is easy to arrange, or easy to replace with a bus or a taxi. It's the longer trips that are hard: out to the airport, into the city from a satellite town, across the region to a concert or a wedding. Those journeys start and end in different towns, often 20, 30 or 40 km apart. A town-sized room can't hold both ends of them. The 50 km room, a circle a hundred kilometres across drawn around you, usually can.

There's no ride-sharing feature in CicadaChat, no bookings and no payments. It's simpler than that. People say where they're going and when, and the people going the same way reply. The rest happens in a private chat.

What it looks like

A screenshot of lifts being arranged in the 50 km room. An airport run from 9.0 km away finds a passenger, and a daily commuter 28 km away offers a seat during a bus strike.

Here's a morning in a 50 km room. Someone 9 km away is driving to the airport on Friday at 5am, from the north side of their town, with two seats free. Someone 14 km away with an 8:40 flight asks for one, and gets a reply: tap my name and we'll sort out where to meet. Later, someone asks about a concert in the city on Saturday. And when a bus strike threatens the commute to the industrial park, someone 28 km away who drives there every day offers a seat, and collects a ❤️ and two 👍.

Offering a seat

Open CicadaChat, tap 50 km in the row of room tabs on a phone, or Within 50 km in the Location rooms list on a computer, and post your trip. A good offer says:

• Where from, in general terms: "the north side of town", "the market crossroads". Not your address.
• Where to: "the airport", "the industrial park", "the stadium in the city".
• When: the day and the time you're leaving, and when you're coming back if it's a round trip.
• How many seats, and anything that matters: luggage space, a child seat, no smoking.
• What you'd like in return, if anything: "happy to share fuel", "free, I'm going anyway".

For example: "Driving to the airport on Friday, leaving 5am from the north side. 2 seats free, happy to share fuel ✈️"

Then keep an eye on the room for replies. When you've filled the seats, say so: "Airport run is full now, thanks all." It saves people asking.

Asking for a lift

If you need a ride, ask the same way, with the same details: where from, where to, when, how many of you. "Anyone going to the concert in the city on Saturday and coming back the same night? Happy to pay for fuel 🎶"

Scroll up first. Someone may already have offered the trip you need. If nobody answers straight away, try again closer to the day, or at a busier time of day like the evening.

Regular commutes

A daily commute is the most useful lift of all, and the hardest to find, because it has to fit two people's working hours every day. The 50 km room is the right place to look, because commutes from satellite towns into a city or an industrial park run right across it.

If you drive the same route every day, a single message can fill your spare seat for months: "I drive to the industrial park every weekday, leave 6:45 from the market crossroads, back at 5:30. Room for one." If you ride with someone regularly, agree how you'll handle sick days, holidays and running late before it becomes a problem.

Public transport strikes, a broken-down car or a bus route that's been cut are good moments to ask. People are often happy to help for a few days when something goes wrong.

Sorting out the details in a private chat

Once someone replies, move the conversation out of the room. Tap their name, on their message or in the People in range list, and a private chat opens that only the two of you can read. It's the place for:

• the exact pick-up point and time;
• phone numbers, if you want to exchange them;
• how you'll share costs;
• what to do if one of you is late or has to cancel.

Private chats don't show either person's distance. The help article private chats: how to message someone one to one explains how they work.

Sharing a pick-up point

An exact meeting point saves a lot of "I'm by the blue sign, which blue sign?". In a private chat, tap the paperclip and choose Location to send a pin that only the other person can see. It shows as a small map with a link to open it in a maps app.

You can share a location in the 50 km room too, but think before you do. The composer warns you: Everyone within 50 km will see this exact spot. That's fine for a public place, like a petrol station or a bus stop, and not fine for your home. The help article how to share your location in a message, and who will see it explains who sees a shared location in each kind of chat.

Sharing costs fairly

CicadaChat doesn't handle money, so agree it yourselves before the trip. Common arrangements:

• Split the fuel and tolls equally between everyone in the car.
• A fixed amount per trip for regular commutes.
• Nothing at all, when the driver was going anyway and just wants company.

Be clear up front. Nobody enjoys arguing about money at 5am on the way to the airport.

Staying safe

Sharing a car with someone you met online needs the same common sense as any other meeting. A few rules make it much safer:

• Chat first. A few messages in a private chat tell you a lot about someone.
• Meet in a public place. A petrol station, a café, a bus stop. Not your home, and not theirs.
• Tell someone. Let a friend or family member know who you're travelling with, when and where.
• Trust your instincts. If something doesn't feel right, cancel. You don't owe anyone a reason.
• Look at the person's history. Someone who's been helpful in the room for weeks, with other people vouching for them, is a better bet than someone who appeared today.
• Consider registered accounts. A registered account has a name its owner chose and a history that follows them from device to device. Friends can also see when each other is online. For regular carpools, it's worth becoming friends.

Drivers: don't read or reply to messages while driving. If you're running late, pull over first, or let a passenger send the message.

Airport runs

Airports are often far from the towns they serve, and early flights leave before the first bus. That makes the airport run the classic regional lift. When you offer or ask for one, include the flight time as well as the departure time, so everyone can check the plan leaves enough margin. Agree what happens if a flight is delayed on the way back: will the driver wait, or should the passenger find their own way? And allow for luggage. Four people with suitcases don't fit in every car.

Big events

A festival, a concert, a football final or a wedding draws people from across a region. Parking is scarce, the last bus leaves too early, and taxis are hard to find afterwards. That's when the 50 km room fills up with offers and requests. Post early, a few days before, and be clear about the way home as well as the way there.

If you're heading somewhere for the day rather than to an event, day trips and weekends away: asking the region about lakes, hikes and waterfalls before you go covers the planning side, from trail conditions to crowds.

Turning a carpool into a group

Regular carpools often grow: four people who commute to the same place, a group that goes to every home match, parents taking turns on a long school run. When that happens, a private room is easier than a string of private chats. Registered accounts can create one from Private rooms in the sidebar, and add their friends. It isn't tied to location, so everyone in it sees every message, wherever they are. It's the right place for "running 10 minutes late" and "no car on Thursday".

A good lift, in short

1. Post where from, where to, when and how many seats in the 50 km room.
2. Move to a private chat to agree the details.
3. Agree costs before the trip.
4. Meet somewhere public, and tell someone who you're travelling with.
5. Say when the car is full.
6. Thank people afterwards, in the room, so the next person knows they're reliable.