Ridesharing: The Carpooling of the Future

We do a lot of surveying and we are no longer surprised by two findings:

3 out of every 4 commuters are frustrated with congestion and traffic for their commutes.

1 in every 2 commuters are interested in sharing rides.

The reasons for each of these are easy to see. Congestion and traffic are serious pains. They

increase unpredictability and can double the time it “should” take to travel. When travel times double, the costs also (tolls, gas, health, lost time) increase significantly. Ride “sharing” appeals to our social nature and most people handle a miserable experience (traffic) better when they have others around to share their frustrations. Sharing the costs of driving can also be a significant gain.

So why don’t more people share rides? The same people who want to share rides, also give us the answer. In most parts of the country it has been difficult to arrange and do the ride sharing.

The Good News

Now we are beginning to see technology making it much easier to share rides. Ride hailing

companies like Uber / Lyft are offering “pool/share” options in some cities and DART has

specific GoLink arrangements for Uberpool to backstop their services in the Legacy area. DFW is also launching a new App to support ridesharing across the region.

Tech Crunch reviews a lot of different technologies seeking to win fans and make ride sharing as easy as it should be.

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