5 ms·

This seems like AirBnB except with cars. Seems like they might run into the same liability problems.

brador 15y ago
Of course. Modern startup thinking seems to be "we'll get a fireproof door once the wood one has burnt down". Only with this one it's not likely to be your possessions like it is with AirBnB, more likely to be you. Imagine the driver taking you down a quiet road to where his friends happen to be waiting. Also, since you're taking passangers, do you need a taxi licence or liability insurance as a driver taking passangers for payment?
- Swizec 15y ago
  Slovenia has had a service like this for about 6 years and nothing has ever happened to anyone. It's much less of a problem than you'd think.
  - brador 15y ago
    You can't get a complaint letter from a murder victim. It's an awesome service among friends though. What's the service called in Slovenia?
    - Swizec 15y ago
      It would become known if anything like that happened methinks. Most likely it would be all over the news as a "Don't meet strangers from the internets! The internets are dangerous omg!" http://prevozi.org http://prevozi.org is the service
    - thwarted 15y ago
      I'm sure this service would also be an awesome way to make friends. Everyone's a stranger before you get to know them. So maybe it's worth meeting up before getting into a cross-country car ride with them.
  - davidw 15y ago
    Yeah, but doesn't everyone know everyone else in Slovenia to begin with? Kidding aside, how many people get how many rides via that service a day/month?
    - Swizec 15y ago
      Not sure actually, you can ask @gandalfar on twitter.
  - fcn_fan 15y ago
    I lived in Germany from 2009 - 2010 and ridesharing is absolutely huge. I haven't heard of anything happening. I probably used the ridesharing website from 2 to 20x per month (didn't have a car but traveled a lot). This is the one I used: http://mfg24.spiegel.de http://mfg24.spiegel.de (the "spiegel" part is actually a major German publication but the rideshare itself is powered by another company). I'm sure chrome will translate it for all you non-germans ;) It's been around for 10+ years
    - mhd 15y ago
      I think it's been around even before the 'net, which is why several sites basically have the same name ("Mitfahrzentrale"). Student organisations and similar groups used to do it for their members or event participants. I'd say that hitch-hiking isn't that more common than in other countries, but sharing a car for a long trip is. (And yes, dear Americans, I know, a few hundred miles really isn't long…)
- tomjen3 15y ago
  What is it with people here assuming people are about to rob them? Fuck that. Make it so that you have to register your car with plates, then if something happens you know which guy to call the police on.
  - jsavimbi 15y ago
    I have no idea why: http://folksinpublic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/hatchet-hitchhiker.jpg http://folksinpublic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/hatchet-...
- rwallace 15y ago
  In the ancestral environment, violence was the main cause of death you could do something about and cars didn't exist. The result is evolved instincts that are wildly irrational in the modern environment. If you actually stop and think about it for a minute, the probability of the driver taking it into his head to murder you is likely negligible compared to the probability of being killed in a plain ordinary road accident, despite - or because of - the fact that we have no instinctive fear of the latter.
kalvin 15y ago
People do give rides all the time :) we're helping people form carpools, in the legal sense. Millions of carpools already happen each day among people with shared destination/interests, and the insurance laws around that are pretty well established and reasonable. (Note that we cap payments at AAA carpool reimbursement rates. You can't start a taxi/limo service.) As far as safety goes, the key is you're not going to message anyone you feel uncomfortable with. If you login, you can see their photo, age range, work/education history, # of fb connections, and mutual friends. Many people rideshare on Craigslist right now anonymously, and there haven't even been any crazy stories there. Take a look for yourself, here's a ride: http://www.ridejoy.com/rides/595-portland-to-seattle-on-october-28 http://www.ridejoy.com/rides/595-portland-to-seattle-on-octo... We do think about safety a lot and will keep working on helping with that. Drop me a note if you have suggestions on how we can improve. Thanks!
- bfe 15y ago
  There are lots of little things you can do to avoid liabilities, and it looks like they're putting a lot of thought into that. I see this as potentially kind of the airbnb of transportation. I'm going to try it out.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]

Of course. Modern startup thinking seems to be "we'll get a fireproof door once the wood one has burnt down". Only with this one it's not likely to be your possessions like it is with AirBnB, more likely to be you. Imagine the driver taking you down a quiet road to where his friends happen to be waiting. Also, since you're taking passangers, do you need a taxi licence or liability insurance as a driver taking passangers for payment?

Swizec 15y ago
Slovenia has had a service like this for about 6 years and nothing has ever happened to anyone. It's much less of a problem than you'd think.
- brador 15y ago
  You can't get a complaint letter from a murder victim. It's an awesome service among friends though. What's the service called in Slovenia?
  - Swizec 15y ago
    It would become known if anything like that happened methinks. Most likely it would be all over the news as a "Don't meet strangers from the internets! The internets are dangerous omg!" http://prevozi.org http://prevozi.org is the service
  - thwarted 15y ago
    I'm sure this service would also be an awesome way to make friends. Everyone's a stranger before you get to know them. So maybe it's worth meeting up before getting into a cross-country car ride with them.
- davidw 15y ago
  Yeah, but doesn't everyone know everyone else in Slovenia to begin with? Kidding aside, how many people get how many rides via that service a day/month?
  - Swizec 15y ago
    Not sure actually, you can ask @gandalfar on twitter.
- fcn_fan 15y ago
  I lived in Germany from 2009 - 2010 and ridesharing is absolutely huge. I haven't heard of anything happening. I probably used the ridesharing website from 2 to 20x per month (didn't have a car but traveled a lot). This is the one I used: http://mfg24.spiegel.de http://mfg24.spiegel.de (the "spiegel" part is actually a major German publication but the rideshare itself is powered by another company). I'm sure chrome will translate it for all you non-germans ;) It's been around for 10+ years
  - mhd 15y ago
    I think it's been around even before the 'net, which is why several sites basically have the same name ("Mitfahrzentrale"). Student organisations and similar groups used to do it for their members or event participants. I'd say that hitch-hiking isn't that more common than in other countries, but sharing a car for a long trip is. (And yes, dear Americans, I know, a few hundred miles really isn't long…)
tomjen3 15y ago
What is it with people here assuming people are about to rob them? Fuck that. Make it so that you have to register your car with plates, then if something happens you know which guy to call the police on.
- jsavimbi 15y ago
  I have no idea why: http://folksinpublic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/hatchet-hitchhiker.jpg http://folksinpublic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/hatchet-...
rwallace 15y ago
In the ancestral environment, violence was the main cause of death you could do something about and cars didn't exist. The result is evolved instincts that are wildly irrational in the modern environment. If you actually stop and think about it for a minute, the probability of the driver taking it into his head to murder you is likely negligible compared to the probability of being killed in a plain ordinary road accident, despite - or because of - the fact that we have no instinctive fear of the latter.

kalvin 15y ago

People do give rides all the time :) we're helping people form carpools, in the legal sense. Millions of carpools already happen each day among people with shared destination/interests, and the insurance laws around that are pretty well established and reasonable. (Note that we cap payments at AAA carpool reimbursement rates. You can't start a taxi/limo service.) As far as safety goes, the key is you're not going to message anyone you feel uncomfortable with. If you login, you can see their photo, age range, work/education history, # of fb connections, and mutual friends. Many people rideshare on Craigslist right now anonymously, and there haven't even been any crazy stories there. Take a look for yourself, here's a ride: http://www.ridejoy.com/rides/595-portland-to-seattle-on-october-28 http://www.ridejoy.com/rides/595-portland-to-seattle-on-octo... We do think about safety a lot and will keep working on helping with that. Drop me a note if you have suggestions on how we can improve. Thanks!

bfe 15y ago
There are lots of little things you can do to avoid liabilities, and it looks like they're putting a lot of thought into that. I see this as potentially kind of the airbnb of transportation. I'm going to try it out.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]