User Joy is a segment where we gush about one of our awesome users and their experience on Ridejoy.

“I was just talking to my mom about you guys.”

This was the first thing, Ridejoy user, Monica T. said to me when I called her. Which is when I knew she was a keeper. Not only did she send us an impromptu email about her delightful experience on Ridejoy, she also directed her mom to the site. Joe Gebbia, one of the co-founders of Airbnb, has said one of their design goals was to create a website their own grandmothers could use. We’re getting one generation closer to that goal with Monica’s mom! Woo!

Who: Monica T (Passenger)

Job: I’m a professional photographer. Mostly for local musicians in Portland.

Route: Portland → Redding

Why? Visiting the mom.

How was the ride? So fun. My driver (Chris, aka “CJ”) and I talked every single moment. I didn’t expect to have a whole lot in common with him, since he’s a woodworker and I’m a photographer. But we had this excellent conversation for seven straight hours. He turned me on to a really cool podcast and we just yammered at each other the whole time. He plays the fiddle and the banjo and I happen to know a bunch of local musicians, so when we both get back to Portland, we have plans to hang out and swap contacts.

Joyful moments on the ride? I eat all day, every day. And I have a grocery bag, full of my snacks and stuff. Which I hardly had to touch because he had the same sort of snack setup and oddly enough, he had all my favorite stuff. So we were pulling over at rest stops and he was pulling out the bag, like “I got this” and “I got this.” It was like exchanging lunches in elementary school – “I’ll trade you my goodies for your apple.” When he brought out the salami and cheese and it was my favorite cheese, I was like, “Are you serious?”

Why Ridejoy? The way it’s set up, it’s just so easy. I haven’t looked at Craigslist at all, I use your guys’ matches. I can’t even think of a single thing that you could do better. You guys even check back in with me. I was like, “Holy crap! That’s a real person! She wants to know if I got a ride!”‘

With Ridejoy, it’s like this community of people who understand that we all need to save a buck today, and tomorrow, and probably next week. Because it’s not the greatest economy right now. I actually took the time to read other posts just to get that general feel of folks out there and it seems like from what you guys have in place, it really attracts honest, down-to-earth people.

Final thoughts? I’ve traveled all my life and love being on road trips. Now that I know there is this option available, I’m going to be using Ridejoy a lot. ♥

Do you have your own User Joy story?  We can’t get enough of ‘em. Let us know at team@ridejoy.com!