Live at UCSB · iOS and Android
Student rides made easy
Book a seat with a verified UCSB student already driving your route, or post your own drive and fill the empty seats.
Free to download · Students 18+ with a verified ucsb.edu email
How it works
Three steps between campus and home
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Step 01
Verify you're a Gaucho
Sign up with your ucsb.edu email and verify a government ID. Drivers add a license and their vehicle. Everyone on SideCar is 18 or older.
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Step 02
Find a trip, or post one
Search by route and date, filter by luggage, rating or a women-only car, then pick your seat and request it. The driver approves every request.
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Step 03
Meet, ride, settle up
Pickups happen on route. Stripe holds the payment until the trip is finished, and a one-time pickup code starts the ride. No cash changes hands.
Inside the app
What's in the app
Search for a trip, book a seat, or post a drive of your own.
Search
Filter down to the right ride
Search by route and date, then narrow the results down.
- Women only. Flip it on and only women drivers appear.
- Luggage. Filter for a car that fits two bags, not just a backpack.
- Rating and language. Narrow to 4.8+ drivers, or a language you speak.
Booking
Pick your seat
Front, rear left or rear right. You choose before you book, and the car fills one seat at a time.
- See the driver, their rating, their trips and their car
- Every request goes to the driver to accept or decline
- Message in the app, so nobody swaps phone numbers
Driving
Fill your empty seats
Posting a trip takes about a minute. Riders request a seat and you accept or decline.
- Your trip. Set the route, the date, the time and how many seats are open.
- Luggage. Say what fits: a backpack, one suitcase or two-plus bags.
- Women only. Turn it on and only women can request a seat.
Why it's different
For students. By students.
Every driver is a UCSB student making the trip anyway. You're splitting the cost of a drive, not booking a car.
A student, not a driver for hire
Your driver is a UCSB student heading where you're heading, on a trip they planned before you booked.
Students only, both ways
Every rider and every driver has a verified ucsb.edu email and a checked government ID.
Paid in the app
Riders pay when the seat is confirmed. Stripe holds the money until the trip is done, then the driver gets paid.
Safety
You already know who's in the car
What we check, and what the app enforces on every trip.
Verified students only
A ucsb.edu email and a government ID check. Verified shows on every profile.
The driver picks
No instant booking. Every request goes to the driver to accept or decline, and you both see profiles and ratings first.
Women-only rides
Riders can show only women drivers. Drivers can accept only women riders. Either side can set it, on any trip.
Payment is held until the trip ends
Cards are stored by Stripe. The driver is paid after the trip, so no cash changes hands.
A code starts the trip
You give the driver a one-time code at pickup. It confirms you're in the right car.
Ratings both ways
Riders rate drivers and drivers rate riders. Ratings show on every profile.
Compare
How else would you get home?
Your options for getting from Isla Vista to the Bay Area.
| Option | Cost | Who you go with | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fly | $$$ | Strangers | Bag fees, plus a ride to and from each airport |
| Train plus a connection | $$ | Strangers | Runs once or twice a day, and the station isn't near home |
| Bus | $$ | Strangers | Slow, and the schedule rarely matches yours |
| Drive yourself | $$ | Nobody | Gas, tolls and parking, all on you |
| SideCar | $ | Verified UCSB students | Someone was driving anyway |
Two sides
Same car, two reasons to be in it
You're not buying a fare. You're sharing a drive that was happening anyway.
- Ride with verified students, never a stranger off the street
- Pick your seat and see the driver before you request it
- Book weeks out instead of hunting a group chat the night before
FAQ
Questions
Who can use it?
Verified college students, 18 and over, starting at UC Santa Barbara. Everyone confirms a ucsb.edu email and a government ID, and drivers add a valid license and their vehicle before they can post a seat.
Is this a rideshare app?
No. Rideshare drivers are working and the fare is their income. SideCar drivers are students already making the trip, sharing the cost with the people riding along. It is not a taxi or ride-hailing service.
Where do pickups happen?
At gas stations within half a mile of the route the driver is already taking, so nobody goes out of their way. In Isla Vista and on campus you can be picked up or dropped off anywhere.
How much does a ride cost?
It depends on the distance and how many seats are shared. The price per seat is shown on every trip before you request it, and SideCar takes a 5% platform fee. There is no surge pricing.
What if my plans change?
Cancel seven or more days out for a full refund. Inside a week it is 50% back, and inside 24 hours it is non-refundable, because the driver held your seat. If the driver cancels, you are refunded in full no matter when.
I drive home all the time. What's in it for me?
Reimbursement for a drive you were making anyway, paid through the app. You approve who rides with you, and the seats were going to be empty either way.
Are you coming to more schools?
That's the plan. Email us with your campus and the route you need.
Who's behind this
Built by a Gaucho who needed a ride
I'm a UC Santa Barbara student, and getting home to the Bay Area was always a struggle. Flights were always super expensive, the train took way too long, or no one I knew was driving home.
When I started asking around, I found that so many of my peers ran into the same issue. Either they couldn't find a way home, or they ended up driving themselves with 2 to 3 empty seats.
That's why I started SideCar. The whole mission is to make student carpooling easier and safer for students like me. The rides already exist. There was just no good way to find them.
Contact
Get in touch
Questions about the app, a club partnership, or bringing SideCar to your campus.
Problem with a ride?
Use the app, not this form. Flagging a trip pauses the payout and sends it to us for review.
Get going
Find your ride home
Free to download. Verify your ucsb.edu email and you're in.