[hvert]

Someone who lives 30 minutes away from me asked me if I wanted to ride with her to an event tonight. I don't like carpooling so I told her I was taking my own car.

I don't get this, though. She lives 30 minutes south of me. The event is ten minutes north of me. My house is not really on her way and her house is very far out of my way.

The last time I was supposed to carpool with her, she was 20 minutes late and then asked me to wait another half hour at the toll booth plaza for her to show up, so I really have no idea why she thinks I'd want to ride with her.

But less specifically, I feel like I have a few friends who always want to take one car, even if it means that someone has to spend considerable time driving out of their way. One former friend admitted that she didn't want to give up her parking spot-- but she was okay with me wasting my time and gas to pick her up and drop her back off.

With other friends, their motivations are less clear. Do they just like the company in the car? I can understand if we were driving a long distance or if parking is tight, but when people want to take one car for a ten minute drive, I don't get it.

[Little Lulu]

I am with you hvert ... I don't like to carpool. One thing I like about taking my own car is that I can come and go when I want to. I don't even get it for the 'company'. Their will usually be plenty of time for socialization when you get to the event. I am pretty comfortable now with telling people that I will take my own car.

So, in answer to your question, I really don't know why some people prefer to carpool even when it is illogical unless, like in the instance you pointed out where someone didn't want to lose their parking space, carpooling works to their advantage.

Like Nancy Reagan said - just say NO (and add a 'thank you' if you must )

[unaluna]

Maybe they are afraid of doing things alone? They should get a blow up doll to ride along with them!

[Hellion]

Save on gas, stay in a group easier...trying to be environmentally concious by not taking 5 vehicles for a group of 5 but rather one vehicle that the 5 can fit in, maybe some people in this group don't have a car so they ride along....there are various reasons people car-pool, though not everyone is good to car-pool with, like the person who was wait and expected you to wait around a bunch.

I think it can be a useful thing, though not so much if people end up being totally unreliable with it. I end up carpooling as I do not drive, but I respect the persons vehicle and am typically willing to offer gas money(when I am flat broke not so much but then I don't expect them to go out of their way then its if they help me with a ride cool, if not then there are buses or walking) but also usually I end up carpooling with people who also want to hang out with me.

[Ozisl]

If I'm going somewhere new, I sometimes like to go with someone who has been there before. I find that driving to a place I don't know, especially at night, is extremely stressing, even if I obsess over looking at maps and StreetView etc before going.

[Hellion]

Originally Posted by hankster

Maybe they are afraid of doing things alone? They should get a blow up doll to ride along with them!

But wouldn't that still be alone, just with the added creepiness of having a lifeless blow up doll next to them? At least I'd find having one of those next to me creepy.

[hvert]

LOL, I will keep blow doll suggestions to myself. We don't have carpool lanes here

I am glad I am not the only one who just prefers driving myself. I really like being able to arrive and leave when I want, too. Relying on someone else for a ride home makes me feel trapped.

If someone doesn't have a car, then catching a ride makes sense, even if one person is going out of their way. I think you guys are right that they just don't want to be alone but don't want to say it for whatever reason... which is kind of funny, because if someone told me that they wanted to meet me at my house first and go together because they didn't want to go alone or drive at night, I'd be way more likely to agree.