> What kind of social fabric do these countries have? In Germany it is quite common for people to carpool between cities with strangers. We even have websites

> What kind of social fabric do these countries have? In Germany it is quite common for people to carpool between cities with strangers. We even have websites for pairing drivers with passengers (mitfahrgelegenheit). These have existed since long before Uber. Say you're driving between SFO and LAX to catch a flight. You put your place/time of departure on the website, and other people can request to ride with you. Usually there is a small cost to the passengers to split the cost of fuel. Passengers can then rate the driver/car on things like punctuality, comfort, personality, etc.