Here are seven web sites that are currently offering online registration for ride sharing:

1. http://www.erideshare.com/ - Carpool and ridesharing website

2. http://www.gishigo.com/ - Ride Share Network

3. http://www.goloco.org/ - An easy way to share trips with your friends

4. http://www.nuride.com/ - Save money and earn rewards

5. http://www.pickuppal.com/ - Connect drivers and passengers

6. http://www.ridester.com/ - Life is a Journey. Share it.

7. http://zimride.com/ - Social rideshare and carpool matching

These seem to be the leaders in this emerging market, but I am sure there are many others.  I applaud each of their efforts to increase ride sharing by building online communities.  Take a look at one or more of the sites to see the many benefits of carpooling and how they address our fear of strangers.

So what is missing?  Convenience.

While they each help facilitate ride sharing, there is a lot of planning involved.  Most of the shared trips are either normal daily carpools to work or one time trips to another city.  I think as these communities grow, we can move toward more on-demand ride sharing. 

My dream is that we could harness much of the unused capacity of passenger vehicles on the road today.  If more people continue to get involved in ride sharing, then there will be more available rides and passengers to fill them.  I know it will take time, but online ride sharing communities are a big step in the right direction.

Cell phones with internet access will make shared transportation even easier.

photo credit: believekevin

My wife’s car was in for repair’s this week, so we were down to just one car.  On Tuesday, we both needed to go to the office, so I made arrangements with my neighbor John for a ride in the morning to my parent’s house.  He works in the same town where I use to live and from there I could borrow my Mom’s car for the rest of the day.

Well, it could not have gone better.  John picked me up at 6:30 in the morning, in a nice warm car on a cold morning.  We had a great conversation during the ride and the 45 minute trip passed very quickly.  It was too bad I could not pick up another ride for the second half of my trip or found a ride for my trip back home.

Now, I did not pay John for the ride, but I gladly would have.  He didn’t mind giving me a ride since he was just making his normal every day commute anyway.  So it did not cost him anything and he enjoyed having the company.

While we were driving north on Route 9, we could see that the majority of the cars were single passenger vehicles.  All this unused capacity is just going to waste.  I think the bulk of our daily trips are on major highways and we would need to provide our own transportation for the first and last 10% of the commute.  Imagine driving your car to a commuter lot where you could get a ride or pick up some paying passengers.  If you then were dropped off near your work place, could you text a coworker for a ride the rest of the way?  What if you sent out a tweet?

It seems like I never have enough time.  What about you?  Think of all the things you could do while some else did the driving.  Think of the money you could save.  Think about how sharing rides could help the economy, transportation and the environment.  Now do you think you would try an organized paid ride system?

photo credit: Axel-D

My son is a big fan of Green Day and I like a lot of their music too.  They have the raw energy of a 3 piece band that reminds me of some of the best punk bands in the early 80’s.  This song has a solid bass and drum line that erupts into a typical Green Day crescendo after the chorus:

There’s a drought at the fountain of youth, and now I’m dehydrating
My tongue is swelling up, as say 1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4

Troubled times, you know I can not lie
I’m off the wagon and I’m hitchin’ a ride

Wow, I have seen the future and it is Avego Shared Transport.  This company based in Ireland is actually implementing the Pay4Rides concept that I have been researching for the last few years.  It is very exciting to see them working on this new way to travel.

Their vision matches exactly what I have been looking for.  They are trying to expand the public transit system to run on every road in the country.  All of our single occupant vehicles are wasting a tremendous amount of passenger capacity.

So how do they do it?  Watch this YouTube video for a short explanation and demonstration:

This is a very intelligent combination of 4 exiting technologies to enable shared transport:

1. GPS – satellite tracking easily establishes driver’s daily routes
2. GSM – mobile phone networks connect all participants
3. GIS – geographic information systems enable automatic decision making
4. Web – facilitates communication with all users and ride share web sites

As you watch the demonstration, I think you’ll agree this is a smooth process with enormous potential.  They have addressed 2 of the biggest concerns with ride sharing by offering a system to validate participants and ratings for both drivers and riders.

Yes, it will take time to build a community of users for a system like this.  However increased participation over time will only enhance the number of available rides and riders.  If you take a few minutes to watch the video, let me know if you are half as impressed with Avego as I am.

My friend Mike has recently been doing some consulting work with me and today he shared my weekly commute.  We rotated our mp3 players taking turns as DJ.  We talked, laughed and enjoyed the companionship during the 2 hour ride.

Since we both have a lot of experience with computer software, at one point the conversation turned to how to create a paid ride sharing web site.  We batted around several ideas on how to mix the internet with text messaging to more easily enable riders and drivers to get together.

When I got home tonight, I did some research to see what was already out there and I was surprised to find some very interesting ideas:

• TreeHugger - Car Pooling is Still a Growing Trend
• NY Times - Need a Ride? Check Your iPhone
• Mashable - PickupPal is eHarmony for Hitch-Hikers

So it looks like other people have also been thinking about this and implementing some promising technology.  Take a look and then share your thoughts on using the latest technology to match drivers and riders together.

photo credit: Dave Duarte

A chauffeur is defined as an individual who operates an automobile for a profession.  They are typically associated with a high priced limousine service.  While researching this topic, I came across a web site offering professional chauffeurs for hire that will drive your car.  They have been around for 20 years and on the WeDriveU Services Page, they list many good reasons to use their service.  They offer the service for about $35 an hour with a 3 hour minimum and say you can save 30 – 40% under the price of a typical limousine service.

I have never heard of this service before, so I did some more digging and found this article in the NY Times.  In the Times story they discuss the many benefits for a busy executive including working while someone else drives.  Additionally, the article talks about the convenience of going to multiple meetings, while not having to worry about directions, parking or gas.

In a Newsweek story, they write about a partnership with Avis Rent A Car to offer you both a driver and the car.  The driver will pick up the car and then be waiting for you at an airport or any other location.  They again list the savings as compared to a car-for-hire service, but it still seems like a lot of money to me.

For a fraction of the cost, Pay4Rides could provide a similar service with all of these additional benefits.  We already have millions drivers with their own cars.  We just need a way to coordinate trips and utilize all this vacant capacity.

photo credit: specialkrb

Hey, watch the road!

Distracted driving is a major contributor to daily automobile crashes in the U.S.  Some studies suggest that distracted driving is becoming as serious as speeding and impaired driving in contributing to accidents.  Adverse road, traffic and weather conditions require a driver’s full attention. 

Many drivers are guilty of using a cell phone, eating, reading and grooming while diverting their attention from the road.  Passenger Energy would allow the driver to fully focus on driving while passengers could engage in other activities.

photo credit: astrocoz

Slugging – impromptu ride sharing

Slugging is a combination of ride-share commuting and hitchhiking.  It is believed to have started in the congested Washington, D.C. area as the practice of forming informal or ad-hoc carpools for the daily commute of workers.  The term “slugs” began when bus drivers would attempt to pick-up these riders only to find out they were not waiting for the bus like a “real” passenger. 

• Sluggers get a ride
• Drivers gain access to HOV lanes
• Traffic is reduced
• Environment benefits

This proves that the Passenger Energy concept can work, we just need to develop a more formalized system to allow paid ride sharing to spread.  Any ideas on how to get started?

photo credit: geishaboy500

This idea will not work unless both drivers and riders feel safe.  Here are some ideas that could make us more comfortable when providing or accepting a ride:

• when you accept a ride, use camara phone to take picture of the driver
• email picture with make/model/year and license plate of the car
• send text message with time/place you were picked up
• call a friend and let them know when/where you expect to be dropped off

photo credit: Nesster

A driver could do similar things when picking up any rider.  Some anxiety could also be reduced by picking up multiple passengers. 

Many cell phones now have built in GPS technology to identify a persons location.  What else could we do to improve safety?

In the summer of 2003, a major portion of the Northeastern and Midwestern United States along with Ontario, Canada experienced the largest blackout in North American history.  It affected over 50 million people and financial loses were estimated at $6 billion USD.  Mass transit (trains, buses, ferries) came to a standstill and millions of people were stranded without a way to get home.  Many began walking and crossing the bridges out of New York City on foot.  It was a strange occurrence and created massive confusion, but something very interesting happened.  Anyone who had transportation (car, van, truck) became a makeshift bus.  You could see flatbed trucks with dozens of people jumping aboard to get a ride out of the city.

While this was an extreme situation, is raises the question why can’t we better harness the power of over 250 million vehicles in the United States?  The majority of drivers make their daily commute alone in a car.  If people would share rides, it could dramatically reduce traffic, slow global warming and lessen our dependence of foreign oil. 

Everyone could keep their own car, but just use it less.  Think of it as turning your personal vehicle into a passenger vehicle.