Take on a rider, let guilt off

Two blocks at home, two blocks at work.

That is all that separated Stephanie and me. What finally brought us together? Guilt. Gas prices. And the magic of RideshareOnline.com, the state's ride-match service for commuters.

I logged on to the site a few weeks ago, after I signed up for the Seattle Times' Climate Challenge project, which ends today but will remain online.

If you haven't been to the Climate Challenge site (www.seattletimes.com/climatechallenge) and figured out your "carbon footprint," do it. It will either be the best surprise you've had since Christmas morning, or something close to stepping on a puppy.

My carbon score (based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Household Emissions Calculator) was 49,182 pounds of carbon-dioxide emissions a year — well over the average of 41,500 for a household of two people. And my kid doesn't even drive. I don't think.

My gas-guzzling car is the true culprit. But my job and status as mom-of-teenager makes it hard for me to be without immediate transportation.

I decided that the best and fastest way to lighten my footprint — at least until hybrid cars get through their awkward puberty stage — is to load up my station wagon with as many bodies as possible.

So I logged on to www.rideshareonline.com, created a profile and entered my address and work hours. In a few minutes, it sent me a list of three people who lived and worked within a few blocks of me.

Then I did what a lot of people do after pledging to change their lifestyle.

Nothing.

A week later, I was roused into action by an e-mail from Stephanie, who got my name from the Rideshare folks "as a potential match."

Some 11,000 people are in the current RideshareOnline pool, an increase of about 1,000 people since January. But that number has been rising right along with gas prices, said Rideshare spokeswoman Cathy Blumenthal.

"We're having the best numbers for May in history," Blumenthal said.

Rideshare was founded in the 1970s and went online in 2001. It is funded by 15 transit agencies in 15 counties, including King County Metro, which maintains the site.

A couple of e-mails back and forth, and Stephanie and I were set: My son and I would pick her up the following Friday morning and if it worked out, do it every Friday.

In the car, we talked about what all Seattleites talk about: housing prices.

How we found our houses. How many we slew in the bidding war. How much our little cupcakes are worth now, and how much they will be worth if our plans evolve.

The bonding truly came, though, on the way home, at the intersection of Jackson and 23rd: the state liquor store.

"Mind if I stop in here?" I asked, somewhat sheepishly.

"You know, I always drive past here, meaning to stop in... " she said.

We really didn't need to; we were both buzzing with the sense that Doing Our Part was not at all like a term paper, or back-country dentistry, or hell.

What took us so long?

What's taking you?

Nicole Brodeur's column appears Tuesday and Friday. Reach her at 206-464-2334 or nbrodeur@seattletimes.com.

She power-strips at home.