Ridesharing with a Little Help from iPhone

Mary Sit — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:19:00 GMT

A new application on iPhone matches drivers with riders in a twist on old-fashioned hitchhiking.

Think of it as computerized hitchhiking.

Carticipate, a free ride-sharing application became available for the iPhone in October. It's already had more than 10,000 downloads, said Steffen Frost, chief executive officer of San Francisco-based Carticipate.

Calling itself an experiment in social transportation, Carticipate says it's the first and only rideshare application on a location aware mobile platform - in other words, a cell phone.

Carticipate says on its Web site that drivers can simply indicate destination and time of departure and post their ride. The company will match drivers up with other "carticipants" going the same way.

Meanwhile, in Kinsale, Ireland, a company called Avego is using a different application to coordinate drivers and riders. Drivers who want to share their car will download the application on their iPhone, then record their route of choice, reports the NYT.

Drivers place the iPhone on their dashboard. It records the trip, and sends the route to Avego's network. That route is then stored on Avego's system where it adds the route to a menu of paths and pick-up points, then offers the ride to interested commuters.

Avego says it will charge 30 cents a mile with 85 percent going to the driver to help recoup costs and 15 percent to Avego. Riders do not need an iPhone to participate and can search for a ride by logging on the Avego Web site or texting.

Would that work here in the United States? Americans historically enjoy driving alone, mainly because many engage in so-called "trip chaining" - when you run errands to and from work. About 75 percent of American workers drive alone to work, according to the Population Reference Bureau in Washington.

Here at METRO, we offer ridesharing through Star, our vanpool program. Eligible riders can also receive a $35 month incentive to share a ride. We also have a free matching program, METROMatch, that will search our extensive eight-county data base to help you find a ride from home to work.

Click here to see our Vanpool Finder, which will tell you if there are existing vanpools you could join.

Write On METRO : Carticipate

Ridesharing with a Little Help from iPhone