Getting into cars with strangers is something your parents probably warned you never to do.

But hundreds of students do just that with a little help from the Penn State ride board in the HUB ground floor.

Many students have not had much trouble riding with strangers, but not all of the arrangements turn out to be good times.

When Ed Baez-Rivera received a ride to Philadelphia, he said something that upset the driver. The driver began yelling and eventually crying. But Baez "still got there in one piece."

Now Baez-Rivera (senior-communications) is looking for a ride to Los Angeles, where he plans to move after his May graduation.

He said he would rather drive the two-day trip than fly because it will be the "greatest experience," and it offers an opportunity to see the country and "have a good time."

And that's why the board is there.

Rich Davis, HUB manager, said the purpose of the service is to "hook people together that are coming from one place and going to another."

Cards containing the name of the driver or rider, phone number, destination, date leaving and date returning are filled out and placed in slots on the board. Students looking for a ride fill out white cards while drivers use blue cards.

Marc Lieberman (sophomore-division of undergraduate studies) is one of those drivers.

He will be driving a minivan to Allentown and is looking for four passengers. He plans to charge $10 round trip, which will take care of gas money.

Lieberman was going to post a notice on a bulletin board but decided against it.

"Nobody looks there -- everyone looks at the ride board," he said.

He has also used the ride board as a rider and has never had a bad experience. The people who put their names up as drivers can usually be trusted, Lieberman said.

The board is divided by location of destinations, which range from nearby Lock Haven all the way to the West Coast.

Davis said when he came to Penn State in 1980, the ride board consisted of a dozen clipboards labeled with different destinations. Soon after that, the American Telephone & Telegraph Co. agreed to build and maintain a board, while Penn State agreed to provide a space for the company logo.

Two years ago, AT&T stopped maintaining the board so the Office of Physical Plant constructed the current ride board, Davis said.

The cost is minimal and does not concern Davis since a service that students appreciate is being provided.

Marci Lacenere (freshman-communications) said she is grateful for the opportuntity to avoid riding a bus.

Finding a ride to West Virginia University gave Lacenere "a chance to meet new people and avoid the obscene price of the bus."

Money also caused problems for David Kress (freshman-environmental resource management).

During the trip, the driver never mentioned money so Kress figured she didn't want any. But a week later, the driver called, asking for $20.

"I didn't return her call so she called my (resident assistant) and my mother," Kress said, adding that he finally gave her $6 "to get her off my back."

But whether or not students encounter minor troubles, Davis called the ride board a success because, "State College is an equal distance from nowhere."