AS far as travelling is concerned, the sharing economy approach has not been embraced much by Malaysians. A random look at single-occupant cars on our urban roads will give you an idea of the situation.
The logic of sharing rides to reduce travelling cost and traffic congestion, while widely understood, failed to click because it is difficult to link drivers and passengers.
However, a peer-to-peer online carpooling platform, Tripda, introduced here in September, hopes to change this scenario and make sharing rides convenient.
Tripda originated from Brazil and is available in 12 countries in Asia, Latin America and North America.
The web-based (www.tripda.com.my) and mobile app-based platform provides a link between drivers with spare seats offering rides, and passengers looking to go the same direction.
Once you have determined where you are going, you can pick your carpool buddy on the Tripda platform based on information such as how much you want to pay, whether they like to talk while driving, car comfort level and their taste in music.
Tripda is supported on Android and Apple smartphones.
Victor Ang, country manager of Tripda Malaysia and Singapore, is confident that Malaysians will embrace carpooling as the platform provides an easy approach to link drivers and passengers.
With the increase in toll and Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) fees at the Johor checkpoint, many Malaysians who drive across the Causeway/Second Link to Singapore, he said, would want to carpool to offset the increased costs. Also, the increasing cost of travel will see many people turning to share riding.
“As long as you have a web browser or smartphone with Internet connection and a Facebook account, you can use this service.
“Users have to register/login using their Facebook credentials and choose whether they want to find or offer a ride.
“If you are driving from point A to point B, you can go to our platform and offer your seats, and if you don’t have a car or you don’t feel like driving, but you want to travel through Malaysia, you can access our platform and look for someone who is traveling the same route.
“It is as simple as that.”
Besides entering in their destination and when they would like to travel, users, he said, could make selections based on specific trip request, which would help Tripda match passenger or driver offers.
If safety is of concern, Pedro Meduna, global co-chief executive officer and co-founder of Tripda, said much thought had been given to ensure the privacy and security of drivers and passengers.
“We have many safety features. Among them is the user-rating system where you can check out ratings and reviews of drivers and passengers.
“This creates a powerful layer of trust and reliability in our Tripda community.
“Then, there is the ladies-only ride, an option for women who prefer to carpool only with other women,” he said.
Users can confirm the authenticity of community members, he said, via the Facebook-only login and email and mobile verification methods. By linking to users’ Facebook accounts, you can view photo, first name and number of friends on Facebook the person you will be travelling with has.
“By being able to see the number of friends each user has on Facebook, you can feel more assured about the veracity of that user’s profile.
“Through email and mobile verification, you can see which users have confirmed email addresses and mobile phone numbers to gain an additional level of security. Drivers have to certify they have a valid driver’s license and car insurance policy when offering a ride.”
Meduna said users’ contact details were kept private and only when the driver confirmed a ride would these details be provided to both parties.
Is there a fee for this service?
“Tripda is not a taxi service. We do not impose a fee on the service.
“Any financial transaction is between drivers and passengers.”
However, Tripda system calculates and recommends a fair contribution cost, while taking into account the costs of owning and driving a car and the chosen route. Passengers pay the driver directly the recommended contribution cost, in cash, to share the costs for the trip.
“There is some flexibility to adjust this price but this feature prevents drivers from profiting from the ride as Tripda is only about sharing the costs and never about the driver profiting, or making a living from carpooling.
“You can think of our users in the same way as friends going on a trip together in a car, while splitting the petrol and toll bill for the journey.”