Home/Geelong/Bellarine Peninsula
Bellarine · 3221 / 3226 / 3227 / 3228Ocean Grove, Barwon Heads, Point Lonsdale, Queenscliff, Drysdale. The Bellarine is one of Victoria's most beautiful regions to live in, and one of its most underserved by public transport. McHarry's buses run hourly at best, finish early, and don't reach where most people actually work. Ride Junto matches you with verified neighbours making the same Geelong or Melbourne run you're already making.
Free · 18+ · ID-verified neighbours only · Public-spot pickups
Why the Bellarine
If you live on the Bellarine and work in Geelong or Melbourne, you've already worked out the maths the hard way. Here's the version everyone agrees on.
Hourly
Most Bellarine routes run roughly hourly across the day, with limited evening service. Miss the bus and you're an hour late to work — or driving anyway.
~$1,500/yr
Across a working year, a 24km daily commute in a typical sedan adds up to roughly $1,500 in fuel alone. Sharing with two neighbours drops it to around $500 each.
~30 min
Comfortably the fastest option. The choice for most Bellarine residents is between solo driving and not going at all — carpooling adds a third option that's cheaper than solo without being slower.
How it works on the Bellarine
"Ocean Grove → Geelong CBD via Bellarine Hwy, 7:45am, two seats." They were already going.
Photo, ID badge, area, rating — before booking. Driver sees the same about you.
Marketplace Drysdale, Ocean Grove Marketplace, Barwon Heads Hub, Point Lonsdale Village — never home addresses.
Stripe handles the cost split automatically based on the route. Driver covers their petrol; you pay your share.
Coverage
All of the Bellarine is on the launch shortlist alongside Greater Geelong. Local sign-ups move your suburb up the list.
Popular Bellarine routes
Indicative fuel-share costs assume a typical sedan (~7.5 L/100km) at $2/L petrol, split across one driver and two riders.
Daily commute
~24 km · ~28 min off-peak · ~40 min weekday morning
Daily commute
~22 km · ~26 min off-peak · ~38 min weekday morning
Daily commute
~20 km · ~22 min off-peak · ~30 min weekday morning
Long-haul commute
~100 km · ~85 min off-peak · ~110 min weekday morning
Daily commute
~30 km · ~35 min off-peak · ~45 min weekday morning
Bellarine cross-trip
~14 km · ~16 min · feeder for Geelong-bound rides
Every driver and rider passes identity verification before booking or posting.
Marketplaces, hubs, town centres — never home addresses.
You see name, photo, area and rating before you accept.
Drivers recover fuel only — never a profit.
FAQ
For commuters, yes. McHarry's bus services run hourly at best across most of the Bellarine — Ocean Grove, Barwon Heads, Point Lonsdale, Drysdale, Queenscliff. Last service finishes early evening. Anyone who works standard hours in Geelong or Melbourne and lives on the Bellarine drives. Carpooling is the only option that scales the existing road traffic better.
Roughly 24km via Bellarine Highway, around 28 minutes off-peak and 35–40 minutes weekday morning. Solo fuel cost on a typical sedan is around $7 round-trip; sharing with two neighbours drops it to roughly $2.30 each.
Yes. Some Bellarine commuters work in Melbourne, not Geelong — Ocean Grove → CBD is around 100km. Drivers running that route post both legs, and the fuel split makes a meaningful dent in what's otherwise a very expensive commute.
The Searoad Ferries between Queenscliff and Sorrento are a leisure connection more than a commuter one. Most regular Bellarine workers head north to Geelong or onto the Princes Freeway. Carpooling is built for that direction — the Geelong CBD or Melbourne CBD run.
The Bellarine is on our launch shortlist alongside Greater Geelong. Local sign-ups directly determine our suburb-by-suburb rollout — register your postcode (3226, 3227, 3228, 3231, etc.) and you'll hear when it goes live.
Tell us your name, email, postcode, mobile and whether you're a driver or rider — we'll prioritise launch as your area's list grows.
Continue to waitlist signup →By joining you confirm you're 18 or over.
Further reading