We have all seen the crazy ads for Priceline with William Shatner.  I like the idea of a negotiated price based on many different variables.  On Priceline, you pay more for a 4 star hotel than you do for a 2 star hotel or a luxury car over a compact.  With airfare there are many variables including direct flight or stopover, city of origin, destination, travel dates, time of day and many others.

I would like to apply the same idea to Pay4Rides.  The price you pay for any ride could be based on many factors:

• Arrange the ride in advance or impromptu
• Repeat rider
• Date & Time
• Distance being traveled
• Door to door service or convenient pick-up and drop off locations
• Driver’s rating
• Passenger’s rating
• One or multiple passengers
• Number of miles being traveled
• Quality of the vehicle
• Extras (DVD player, bike rack, etc.)
• Weather conditions
• Tolls
• Parking

If we could schedule rides, then you could make arrangements in advance and agree on a price.  Riders could also post ride requests and open them up to a bidding process like eBay.

Drivers and riders could build up a list of “friends” that could be easily reached with text messaging.  I think with the incredible power of the internet and the wide use of cell phones, we have all the necessary communication tools.  Now we just need to fully utilize our technology to improve daily commutes.