TimmyH
Staying Afloat: Carpooling Websites Thrive
August 19th 2008 08:52
With Petrol Prices still well above 2006 levels and many hip pockets suffering as a result, motorists are choosing to pool their collective poverty.
Carpool matching service eRideShare.com has recorded a threefold increase in hits since February this year, while Craigslist is also accumulating the online form of traffic. Another competitor, carpoolworld.com, has about 20 times the number of members that it did 6 months ago.
"People are well aware of global warming,...but it takes the price of petrol to get them to take that step," said Steven Schoeffler, founder of eRideShare in Edwardsville, Ill. "It's something they wanted to do anyway but maybe needed a little extra impetus."
Zimride is offering something a little different, it runs similarly to Facebook with profiles of users and also offers a rating system which works a lot like eBay’s score function. GoLoco takes a 10 percent cut but also offers a way for users to pay each other online so that they don’t have to muddle over change in the car.
Getting into a car with a stranger seems to be of less concern than was once the case, mostly because of the high petrol prices. But reliability is still a major problem for the business model. In response, Governments in the US have begun providing guaranteed carpoolers to their communities.
Really Long Link
eRideShare.com
Carpool matching service eRideShare.com has recorded a threefold increase in hits since February this year, while Craigslist is also accumulating the online form of traffic. Another competitor, carpoolworld.com, has about 20 times the number of members that it did 6 months ago.
"People are well aware of global warming,...but it takes the price of petrol to get them to take that step," said Steven Schoeffler, founder of eRideShare in Edwardsville, Ill. "It's something they wanted to do anyway but maybe needed a little extra impetus."
Zimride is offering something a little different, it runs similarly to Facebook with profiles of users and also offers a rating system which works a lot like eBay’s score function. GoLoco takes a 10 percent cut but also offers a way for users to pay each other online so that they don’t have to muddle over change in the car.
Getting into a car with a stranger seems to be of less concern than was once the case, mostly because of the high petrol prices. But reliability is still a major problem for the business model. In response, Governments in the US have begun providing guaranteed carpoolers to their communities.
Really Long Link
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