A new carpooling app called Ride was made available to Atlanta commuters on June 22, according to a Venture Beat. The app connects people by their route, proximity and employer.
DKC Public Relations, Marketing & Government Affairs Account Supervisor Drea Braxmeier said Atlanta was chosen as the initial test market, because Atlanta is notorious for having long commutes and is home to many universities and Fortune 500 companies.
She also said Ride is different from other ridesharing services, such as Uber and Lyft because Ride helps users create carpools, plan a route, manage payments and communicate on pick up locations.
“Ride is not a onetime service and can be set up in advance,” Braxmeier said. “Ride is designed to save you time and money by making your daily commute more efficient.”
Braxmeier said Ride is unlike Uber or Lyft in that it targets businesses and individual commuters traveling to and from the same area. Ride uses algorithms to figure out the best way for all the car riders to get to work or school according to Braxmeier.
“A lot of it depends on how many co-workers live near you or on your route to work, and also share similar commute details,” Braxmeier said. “It typically takes a week to match Passengers with Drivers, though we’ve matched folks in less than 10 minutes.”
Ride prices are based on route, gas, driver’s tolls and parking prices, according Braxmeier.
“Right now, this is a flat fee of $0.10/mile for all passengers,” Braxmeier said. “If you are a driver, you are reimbursed up to $0.56/mile based on the most direct distance traveled between your passenger’s home and work locations.
Georgia State junior Joseph Wilson said Ride sounded like a great idea because of how affordable it is and added that Ride could ensure the safety of riders through having secure payments and driver verification.
“Safety may be the biggest issue, but that comes with all ride-sharing services. As long as the transfer of payments is conducted in a safe manner, and every driver is verified in some way then the service should thrive,” he said.
The safety of Ride can be ensured through the validity of the driver’s license and insurance, along with participants having to provide their home addresses to the driver, according to Braxmeier.
She said drivers must be at least 18 years old, own a vehicle, have a valid U.S. driver’s license, current registration and the state minimum required amount of auto insurance.
She also said the algorithm is constantly looking for matches for people who are going to the same location with the best schedule match. When a new match is made available, app users will be notified, according to Braxmeier.
“When you register to use Ride, we ask you a few questions about your commute: where you live, your typical arrival and departure times, and the days of the week you go to work/class,” Braxmeier said. “This information allows Ride to find the a well-suited match for you—we look at who else lives around you or on your route to work and their commute schedule—to find the most efficient person (or people) for you to carpool with.
When Ride matches a driver to a passenger, a message is sent to both parties then they can communicate about details, such as pick-up location and when to start commuting together, according to Braxmeier.
She also said Atlanta is the initial test market, and Ride will be expanding to match its increased demand.
“After successfully launching with a mission to help major corporations and institutions offer an easy, hassle-free commuting solution for their employee bases, Ride is now opening its commuter matching platform to individuals as a complement to its core business after seeing an extensive increase in demand,” Braxmeier said.
