Heard a plug for this on the radio last week. Rod Bishop has created a site to help commuters organize carpools, rideshares and hitching called
Hitch. I remember discussing this concept with a mate, I think its a great idea, genuinely useful and timely, given petrol prices.
I guess its early days for the site but it I think it could go further than it currently does, so here some features I'd like to see:
- Reputation
The issue with hitching is there is always a risk of meeting a random nutter. Adding feedback for ride providers and building reputation could reduce the chance of seeing crackpots.
- Mobile services
It'd be good if you could query the site for rides via text message. eg. "From: Auckland To: Wellington Date: 27/6/8"
- Monetizing
All sites must earn their keep. Links into bus companies, hostels and tourist operators seem absent. Suggesting a train or bus route if you search doesn't locate any rideshares would be useful to users and to advertisers.
http://www.carshare.co.nz
http://www.carshare.co.nz
www.CarpoolKing.com/nz/en-gb/
www.CarpoolKing.com/nz/en-gb/
Hi, i agree with your post,
Hi,
i agree with your post, however there are some issues:
for the feedback system the users would need to sign up first - most people (including me) wont do that if they "just wanna use the site". signing up is a big annoyance, because the user has to provide all the details, sign in to his email account and wait for the email with his activation link. some freemailers like yahoo have quite some "lag" and it can take up to 5 mins until the email shows up in the inbox.
the mobile services idea is a good one, but very expensive. you need a 2 way sms gateway if you want to respond to incoming text messages, and clickatell.com charges a € 100 setup fee plus € 25 per month plus the standard rate for sending an sms and 1/3 of the standard rate for receiving(!) an sms. keep in mind that you only have 160 chars for your mobile service experience, so you what do want to respond in this very limited space? premium sms ios even more expensive, and the users wont be happy if they pay 1 dollar or so for a "no lift found - please try different cities" message...
Hey guys. Good to find this
Hey guys. Good to find this old post about hitch.net.nz - we've continued development and are taking all these ideas under our wing :) If you'd like to check out our new carpool / rideshare website jump onto www.jayride.co.nz and share a ride around NZ! Rod B
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