Move Aside Taxi Booking Apps, Carpooling App Tripda May Be H
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Move Aside Taxi Booking Apps, Carpooling App Tripda May Be Here To Stay
By Sim Yan Ting | Vulcan Post – Mon, Jan 5, 2015In light of the slew of apps that attempt to make the local transport system more efficient, one form of transportation remains arguably underlooked in this part of the world: carpooling.
It is, in a way, understandable why carpooling itself is not as common in Asia than it is in the West- in a conservative Asian culture like ours, safety concerns hails above all else, including convenience, comfort, companionship and even cash.
And start up firm Tripda is hoping to change just that.
Image Credit: TripdaLaunched late last year, Tripda is an online carpooling service that is now active in 12 countries (Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Philippines, and most recently in US and India) with Brazil being the first country it launched, in May 2014. The concept is simple: the platform enables drivers with spare seats in their cars to offer rides to passengers going the same way. The passengers get a relatively cheaper trip, while drivers get to make a quick buck for something they were already doing anyway. The service Tripda provides is free.
Tripda is proud of the benefits of its service, one that they believe is social, economical, environmentally-friendly, secure, and convenient. And they aren’t the only ones who believe in the value of their service. The start up is backed by venture accelerator firm Rocket Internet, the same guys who brought you ecommerce giants Lazada and Zalora.
We spoke to Tripda’s co-founder and CEO (Emerging Markets), Pedro Meduna, to find out a little more about the next transport venture you should keep your eyes peeled for.
Image Credit: Tripda, on facebook.comTripda came about when Meduna and fellow co-founder Eduardo Prota shared the same problem of living in the country and having to go to the city to work, and had to rely on friends or acquaintances travelling the same way. The idea further developed during Meduna’s trip to Europe, where carpooling was a common form of transport.
The co-founders then lived in US for awhile, and noticed the potential of the ‘sharing economy’ there, and came up with the idea of exporting the idea of carpooling to different parts of the world where sharing a vehicle with complete strangers is far less common. They met Rocket Internet, who shared their vision of exporting the idea of carpooling overseas. The rest was history.
Image Credit: TripdaTripda’s main function is to connect people looking for a ride with drivers who have empty seats in their cars. The service is available via their website and as a mobile app on Android and iOS. The platforms are relatively easy to navigate: users first create an account by linking their Facebook account to the service. Passengers can immediately browse for trips by keying in their pick up location, destination and date of trip.
Drivers, on the other hand, would have to register their ride by providing the company with an optional photo, its brand, model, level of comfort, colour, and number of passenger seats available, among other information. They may also toggle option to allow for example, smoking, pets, music and even if they would like to engage in a conversation during the ride.
Image Credit: TripdaMeduna believes that the company’s philosophy of “think global, act local” is the key to their rapid expansion.
“Every time we expand to another country, we look for a small team of great local talent to build Tripda and grow the carpooling culture there,” said Meduna, “This gives us a strong understanding of each market and their nuances – be it in culture, lifestyle, demographics or key routes. Our on-the-ground presence makes it easier to engage with users at every level and listen to their feedback in order to improve our product.”
Indeed, Tripda’s invasion into local carpooling Facebook groups in Singapore, for example, has already begun. In recent months, ‘Campus Ambassadors’ (CA) from Tripda’s ‘Campus Ambassador Program’ have put up notices such as the one below in NUS Carpooling groups. This program intends to further localise and integrate the service into the Singaporean community.
Image Credit: NUS Carpool!, on facebook.com“Each university’s Campus Ambassador acts as a focal point to engage fellow students and nurture in them the carpooling culture using Tripda as a convenient, safe, fun and economical means of travel,” said Meduna. They currently have CAs in NUS and the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, with plans to expand this program into other universities in the region. Tripda is also looking into partnerships with companies, NGOs, and event organisers.
Also Read: LTA Spokesman On Taxi-Taxi@SG App: “We Might Link It To Third-Party Apps.”
With all this said, we were still concerned about the safety of using the platform for rides with complete strangers. Meduna is however confident of the safety of the platform, and is encouraged by the positive feedback he has received from Singaporeans, especially from the younger population.
Image Credit: Tripda“Tripda is built on the principles of safety and trust,” said Meduna, “We encourage community ratings and reviews by travelers who have taken rides together. The platform verifies drivers and passengers in multiple ways and runs checks to ensure their privacy and security. We want to give our users every information necessary to help them pick the perfect carpool buddy.” Read more about their security policy here.
Meduna is similarly heartened by the response Tripda has received from its Malaysian users.
“Malaysia was the first Asian launch for us. There is definitely a high demand for our service among students and people commuting for work. What made Malaysia the right market was its very established roads and highway network, and high population of cars. Furthermore, Internet penetration and Facebook adoption is high in Malaysia which is crucial as users require a Facebook account to login to Tripda.”
In addition, Meduna believes that the rising costs of owning a private vehicle in Singapore and Malaysia is a huge incentive to jump on the carpooling bandwagon. Their greatest challenge right now, he believes, is to convince people to give it a go.
Image Credit: TripdaAnd so we did.
Being the environmentally-aware budget hunters we are, we were all for the concept of splitting costs for a journey with the additional bonus of it being for a good cause.
While we understand that the app was initially intended for long-distance travel, the main gripe we had for the the app was that Singapore is too small an island to travel between cities. As a result, all searches became arbitrary in that it would always churn out results “from Singapore to Singapore”. The results may vary for app users in Malaysia, given its much larger size. This little bug might however be the least of its worries for now.
Safety concerns still remain an issue for us, especially with newly registered drivers with little or no reviews. We were also uncertain of the degree by which Tripda would be able to scan drivers, especially on more intangible aspects like character and credibility, given that they are not liable to larger organisations (like cab drivers are). It would help to make stringent scanning processes more transparent to potential passengers.
As a result, their marketing strategies might have to be more finely tuned to the Asian consumer in these aspects, I would daresay, before they will be able to gain considerable traction.
That being said, Tripda provides an intuitive, hassle-free platform for people to hitch a ride and make new friends along the way. It is certainly a platform I wouldn’t mind trying out once in gains traction in Singapore.
But only if I have a friend with me.
Also Read: Solving Manila’s Traffic Problem With Carpooling App Tripid
The post Move Aside Taxi Booking Apps, Carpooling App Tripda May Be Here To Stay appeared first on Vulcan Post.
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Carpooling is not new, if it works....long long ago, it would had worked. Let them go pool lor...then see if they can tarhan each other or not, typical local resident car owner where got go and share his or her car with you...with the most expensive car price in the world , you think they will share with you for a pathetic few dollars...you think they will not mind the race, the smell, the instruction to turn left and turn right, the high ego strangers from other countries telling you to go straight, turn left, turn right??... All this foreign business think everything can work in Singapore, but singapore is unique in a way of multi racial, conservatives and mind your own business people..not a homogenous one, nor a gracious one.
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Haha.is like marcham u buy new sports car.. share with ppl. U want meh??
But hor if u buy nissan sunny new car... pooling with ppl.. maybe some ppl will do that.
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Yalor, even colleagues car pooling to work also end up quarrelling....lols. Late, location to pick up, fare matter...so many problem, even good colleague also can end up not talking to each other...what do you think about public car pooling??
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Aiyah...you all lau kok kok one lah...The younger generation might think differently.
This one different from colleague car pooling where everyday you do the same thing with the same person. This one machiam taxi..you car pool with the stranger maybe only once.
Take car, reach destination, pay and f**k off. If like, tomorrow can do again. If no like, no need to car pool tomorrow.
NUS/NTU big campus. Move from one faculty to another need to take bus. Might work there for undergraduates who want to earn extra pocket money.
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Last time, I remember car pooling was popular for a while for young guys trying to hook chicks back then. Now maybe can work to a certain extent, for example, same condo, same industrial area or biz park. But is it legal to collect money?
Last night, pick up one ang moh char boh and one Indian guy who apparently taxi pool. Go to Bayshore, then chit chat and get to know each other. In the end, the guy paid but not sure if the lady pay him half or not.
If car pool and taxi pool work, then TDs eat poo liao. Hope the day won't come. Last night, after 11pm, saw so many green lanterns at MBS, Orchard, on the highway, etc.... makes me want to puke.
Who says we taxis no enough?
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Actually you guys drive for quite some time liao, already know when and where and what time to kip car liao....
must learn to let go, even though you know the average earnings can liao.
as for car pooling, minority of the population do this kind of trade for some pocket $.
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Originally posted by luckycabby:
Last time, I remember car pooling was popular for a while for young guys trying to hook chicks back then. Now maybe can work to a certain extent, for example, same condo, same industrial area or biz park. But is it legal to collect money?
Last night, pick up one ang moh char boh and one Indian guy who apparently taxi pool. Go to Bayshore, then chit chat and get to know each other. In the end, the guy paid but not sure if the lady pay him half or not.
If car pool and taxi pool work, then TDs eat poo liao. Hope the day won't come. Last night, after 11pm, saw so many green lanterns at MBS, Orchard, on the highway, etc.... makes me want to puke.
Who says we taxis no enough?
taxi not enough only during peak hrs/raining days nia
wahaha
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I did car pooling before.....
stayed ard AMK area and need to go Tuas for work... driving alone.. then decided to make use of car to get petrol allowance.... got a couple of OL which timing suits me and kick start the whole thing...but stopped after 6 months as my timing changes...
Can be sucessful if the working timing is right....
May start again at a later stage where my car will be scrap... Thinking of renting a car on long term basis as I need to travel long distance and definately car pooling will help reduce cost... Only thing is the insurance portion..... But who will want to drive to bang other cars???
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Your that time, a toyota Altis cost only 50,000, today it is about 120,000 to 130,000. The owner would have charged much higher. People will compare and weight the differences.
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Originally posted by bowah:
Your that time, a toyota Altis cost only 50,000, today it is about 120,000 to 130,000. The owner would have charged much higher. People will compare and weight the differences.
Aiyah, that time mata wear shorts lah... Precisely, car so expensive, those who want to own a car may do car pool to cover the cost. Feel like it, anytime can car pool. Dun feel like it, then dun car pool for today lor..
Machiam sama sama like TD. Suka, fetch. Boh suka, put Busy and go eat dim sum at Thong Bee road. hehe..
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Lansai lah, carpool, call apps, Uber..smlj pattern also hv...I still net $30 per day mah, just drive lah...until cannot drive or not worth driving, throw key lor...then walk out steady steady...Singapore taxi driver where got problem one..
