Just in time for New Year?s Eve, 21st Century Insurance has introduced Tweet2Ride, a mobile Web site to help connect consumers who are seeking or offering rides to their friends.

Consumers can log into the Tweet2Ride site with their email or Twitter username. From there, they can send direct messages with their GPS coordinates and whether they need a ride or can offer one to their Twitter followers.

?Busy consumers expect more today,? said Bryan MacDonald, vice president of ebusiness at 21st Century Insurance, Wilmington, DE. ?21st Century Insurance companies are trying to help consumers get more by offering tools to simplify their lives and make them easier.?

21st Century Insurance is a car insurance company that was bought by Farmers Insurance Group in 2009.

How tweet
Mr. MacDonald said ridesharing is a great concept that has many benefits such as maintenance cost reduction and environmental conservation.

Tweet2Ride is 21st Century?s first mobile site. The company has plans to develop other services that offer consumers value and utility.

The mobile site was designed with Twitter in mind so consumers are only reaching out to people they trust.

The service is private and the consumer has total control over who receives the ride request.
 
A consumer?s request remains private and does not appear in any public Twitter stream.

21st Century Insurance said it based its service around Twitter because the social networking site allows real time, two-way communication between trusted friends.

Car pull
Mr. MacDonald said the service was designed for all consumers who need or can provide a ride.

Working moms can use the service to coordinate schedules.

Young adults and college students who attend late-night activities can use the site to find a safe ride home.

Similarly, college students and younger professionals who need a ride home for the holidays or for the weekend can use Tweet2Ride.

The site could also be used by coworkers who want to share a ride to or from work.

The insurance company went with a mobile site because it is available to more consumers on more devices.

However, Mr. MacDonald said applications are a part of 21st Century Insurance?s mobile strategy.

?Mobile is the way of the future and so many 21st Century customers are never without their mobile devices,? Mr. MacDonald said.

?21st Century Insurance recognizes that customization and personalization are the essence of our technology-driven, Internet-connected culture and we want to be the kind of insurance provide that delivers technology solutions ? like this social utility ? to connect people and make their lives easier,? he said.