Buzz Rides receives grant to expand services

When UNC sophomores Joey Skavroneck and Parker Draughon made their dream a reality last fall by starting Buzz Rides, they never could have imagined they would be considering expansion this soon.

Buzz Rides, a free electric car shuttle service on UNC’s campus, recently received an $11,800 grant from N.C. State University’s North Carolina Solar Center.

Skavroneck said Buzz Rides plans to use the money to get a fast charger that will leave the vehicles 80 percent charged in about 30 minutes.

“First semester we had two vehicles (out of four) out at a time and had to switch out because of charging,” he said. “With the fast charger, we can have all four out for our busiest nights like Thursdays and Saturdays.”

“We were blown away by the response we’ve received by students. We drive 100 to 120 kids a night and we feel really confident moving forward.”

Skavroneck said other recipients of the N.C. State grant include Duke Energy, FedEx Express and Waste Management, Inc.

Because of increased student response to Buzz Rides, Skavroneck said he is building up his executive team.

He hired junior Caleb Cates as executive director of sustainability.

“(Cates) is in charge of making sure we are in compliance with our grant and calculating how many CO2 tailpipes we cut down on,” said Skavroneck. “We are on track to cut down 50,000 tailpipe emissions after year one.”

Cates said the business’ vehicles have emitted far less pollution than the most common taxi car in the United States — a Crown Victoria.

“Thus far, we have emitted less than half the carbon emissions that a traditional gas-powered taxi would,” he said.

Sophomore Chris Jones, Buzz Rides’ chief financial officer, said he has been pleasantly surprised by the amount of student support Buzz Rides has received. About 2,000 rides have been given per month since the launch of the business in September, he said.

“When we have the charger and are able to use all four cars, we hope to increase this to 3,000 rides per month,” Jones said.

He said the experience he has gained working for Buzz Rides has been invaluable.

“I have learned so much more in two months of Buzz Rides than in two years of taking classes,” he said. “It’s great when we are driving and we hear people walking down the street cheering for Buzz Rides.”

Freshman Brent Comstock, director of marketing and the youngest team member, said he is working on another vital part of the business: the website.

“It is going to be very innovative and fluid — simply this one long page that is split into different components,” said Comstock. “I call it simply sophisticated.”

He said another important part of his job is looking for ways to diversify the company’s operations.

“How do I advance it so when older members of the company are off doing other things we can expand the company maybe in other universities or other places around the U.S.?” he said.

Sophomore Ashley Cirone, who is director of public relations, said she is extremely excited for the upcoming semester and what it holds for Buzz Rides.

Cirone said Buzz Rides’ success was not a surprise to her because of the service’s speed and convenience.

“The phrase, ‘We should just call a Buzz Ride!’ has certainly become commonplace.”

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