4 ms·

That was really common at Microsoft in the late 90s (and may still be) to be able to use the HOV lanes when driving from Redmond to Seattle. It worked well beca

by synu 4y ago

That was really common at Microsoft in the late 90s (and may still be) to be able to use the HOV lanes when driving from Redmond to Seattle. It worked well because you were picking up colleagues, which sort of established a certain level of trust.

woodruffw 4y ago
My understanding is that it's also still very common in DC's beltway, for similar reasons (lots of civil servants going to similar areas, living nearby each other).
filoleg 4y ago
I don't know how it is now, because I've left since then. But in pre-covid times, Microsoft was pushing/advertising this carpool app they partnered with called Scoop. Similar idea, except it can include workers from other companies as well, and it isn't for making money for the driver, but just to cover the cost of gas + to be able to use the HOV lane. As a passenger, you schedule your approximate time to go to work (or from work, or both, depending on how you want to use it), and the app matches you with a driver for the next morning who is going to about the same area, but maybe a different building. So they pick you up, drop you off, and go along their merry way, and you are only out of about $5-7 or so (that was the rate for going from Seattle downtown to Redmond, which is about a factor of 6-8 cheaper than an uber/lyft was at the time). I used it as both a driver (a few times) and as a passenger (many times). Feels like a pretty great idea that worked well. If I was driving, I didn't mind a 5 minute reroute to pick up or drop off someone nearby, and those $7 + (more importantly) HOV lane access were totally worth it. I estimated that the HOV lane access alone saved me significantly more time than I lost by going out of my way to pick up/drop off the passenger. And the fact that those people are guaranteed to not be randos, but either other MSFT employees or employees of other nearby companies made it much more trustworthy for me (the app required work email to sign up). Obviously, this wasn't meant to be an uber/lyft alternative, as it is only useful for going to/from work and only during specific days/hours. And you gotta schedule/get matched with a driver the night before, you cannot just wake up and spontaneously get a ride. Which makes sense given the context, because people typically want to have their commute to work planned the night before.

by synu 4y ago

woodruffw 4y ago

My understanding is that it's also still very common in DC's beltway, for similar reasons (lots of civil servants going to similar areas, living nearby each other).

filoleg 4y ago

I don't know how it is now, because I've left since then. But in pre-covid times, Microsoft was pushing/advertising this carpool app they partnered with called Scoop. Similar idea, except it can include workers from other companies as well, and it isn't for making money for the driver, but just to cover the cost of gas + to be able to use the HOV lane. As a passenger, you schedule your approximate time to go to work (or from work, or both, depending on how you want to use it), and the app matches you with a driver for the next morning who is going to about the same area, but maybe a different building. So they pick you up, drop you off, and go along their merry way, and you are only out of about $5-7 or so (that was the rate for going from Seattle downtown to Redmond, which is about a factor of 6-8 cheaper than an uber/lyft was at the time). I used it as both a driver (a few times) and as a passenger (many times). Feels like a pretty great idea that worked well. If I was driving, I didn't mind a 5 minute reroute to pick up or drop off someone nearby, and those $7 + (more importantly) HOV lane access were totally worth it. I estimated that the HOV lane access alone saved me significantly more time than I lost by going out of my way to pick up/drop off the passenger. And the fact that those people are guaranteed to not be randos, but either other MSFT employees or employees of other nearby companies made it much more trustworthy for me (the app required work email to sign up). Obviously, this wasn't meant to be an uber/lyft alternative, as it is only useful for going to/from work and only during specific days/hours. And you gotta schedule/get matched with a driver the night before, you cannot just wake up and spontaneously get a ride. Which makes sense given the context, because people typically want to have their commute to work planned the night before.