Rideshare: a comparison of car sharing websites

Frits Pieper
04 jun 2015

What are the different options for ride sharing and car sharing?

In recent years, various initiatives have been launched where people with their own car let others ride along in order to share the costs of traveling by car. In this article, we will discuss the various websites that offer car sharing, where riding along with someone else is made possible. We will discuss the pros and cons of Blablacar, Uber, samenrijden.nl, hitchhikers.org and meerijden.nu.

What does car sharing entail?

You can use the ride-along service or service by contacting a car owner via a website who drives the same route as you want to go. In this way, owners of their own car can use the share travel expenses with one or more additional passengers.

Benefits of ride sharing

If you don't know anyone who is willing to offer such services, you can go to the Internet. There are a number of lots of websites where you can find a lift or a shared car.

The advantage of ride sharing is not only the distribution of costs. At the same time, it is also better for the climate. The more there is sharing, the fewer cars there are on the road. This reduces the total CO2 emissions of cars.

Ridesharing and sharing your car also has its advantages social aspect: you come into contact with new people. When driving long distances, it is also always safe when there are two or more people in the car who pay extra attention to the road and can intervene if the driver passes out.

The different websites for car sharing

The most well-known ride-sharing services are BlaBlaCar, Uber, togetherriding.nl, hitchhikers.org, a ridealong.nuWe discuss the website for each pros and cons of the relevant ride-along service.

BlaBlaCar

BlaBlaCar is a French company that can connect car drivers with people who would like to ride along. It is currently active in twelve European countries. The principle of this service is that the costs of the ride are shared. This cost price is determined in advance.

When you want to make a specific trip, you have to specify where you want to go. Then you can compare the offers and the requested trip prices so that you can choose what is best for you.

Another nice feature of this website is that you can check how speech seedcar sharing with blablacarm a driver is based on the number of “bla” on his profile. This way you can somewhat determine how your ride will go. There is also an option that notifies you by email when a ride to a certain destination is posted.

Drivers can create a profile on BlaBlaCar, place rides and determine the price of the rides themselves. BlaBlaCar automatically calculates a standard kilometer rate and then indicates whether the predetermined ride price is now higher or lower. That is certainly an advantage because it discourages asking (too) high prices.

Uber

Uber was originally founded in the USA and is active in world cities such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels, Miami, London, etc. It is compare to a taxi company where you can have a car with driver 24 hours a day. This service works with an app that shows where the nearest driver is located.rideshare with uber

The app works in 58 different countries. You drive in inconspicuous cars and you can pay afterwards by credit card or via Paypal. In addition, you will also receive a notification in advance via the app estimate of the fare.

Uber not only offers services with professional taxi drivers, it also employs private amateur drivers who drive at reduced rates: UberPOPThis form of ride-sharing is prohibited in the Netherlands, but is still active. This may not be such a pleasant or honest way of ride-sharing after all.

Samenrijden.nl

Samenrijden.nl is a online platform of the ANWB where both drivers and passengers can be in contact with each other. Supply and demand come together nicely here. The fact that this site is linked to Facebook or LinkedIn is useful. The vision of samenrijden.nl is that driving together can be made fun by using the power of social media.

Benefits of samenrijden.nl

The advantage of linking to such a social network is that both the driver and the passenger can form an idea of ​​the person with whom a ride will be shared. And that makes asking for and/or offering a ride a lot more interesting!

Another advantage of this link with existing social media profiles is that samenrijden.nl clearly shows how many steps the person in question is away from you. The most important aspect is perhaps the fact that you can see which acquaintances and friends of yours are a have a connection with the provider. This will immediately make you feel a lot safer before you start this “stranger” gets into the car.

The most important common denominator in car sharing is the common destination. This ensures a match between the provider and the passenger. Without a common destination, there will never be a match. Using Google Maps makes searching for a destination a lot easier. In addition, a link is also made with the handy route planner that can be found on the ANWB website.

Disadvantages of samenrijden.nl

A disadvantage of samenrijden.nl is that agreements about ride-alongs (such as compensation) are left entirely to the users. So you don't get a price indication in advance.

On the homepage you can either search for a ride or offer one. You only need to fill in a few things: departure place, arrival place, date and time. It is not possible to obtain more information in advance.

Hitchhikers.org

The international hitchhiker site Hitchhikers.org gives drivers the opportunity to indicate that they still have a free space in their car. However, this is about long journeys within Europe, usually no fee is charged for this.hitchhiking along the road

On the homepage you can either search for a ride or offer a ride. Offering rides can be fun if you are looking for company or a nice chat. This can then be done for a (small) fee or not. It is also recommended to book outward and return journeys as two separate journeys.

It is possible to contact the provider of the ride to make further arrangements. Not much information is shared on the website.

Unfortunately the site is outdated and therefore not quite up to date. It is nothing more than a simple list of lifts offered. Only a few rides were listed here. The site does not look nice or professional at all. Furthermore, Hitchhikers.org does not have a system to check the different providers or provide them with any feedback. So everything is entirely at your own risk! This is a disadvantage because it raises questions about the reliability of the providers.

Ridealong.nu

Meerijden.nu includes all worldwide supply and demand for transporting people and any luggage. It forms, as it were, a solution for travelling, hitchhiking, carpooling and commuting.

You can offer rides yourself. But you can also search for rides and use the alert system when a ride is available. When you have had a ride you can also rate the driver. This way other passengers can get a global picture of this driver.

You can also create an account on the site. This way you can keep track of your rides or receive messages when a requested ride is available. In general, this site is quite simple and monotonous. It looks very unprofessional.

Conclusion: which car sharing website comes out on top?

The three most reliable and professional providers in the field of car sharing are BlaBlaCar, Uber and samenrijden.nl. These sites look professional and are easy to use. You will immediately find one or more rides to choose from.

A very interactive service is undoubtedly BlaBlaCar. The function to rate a driver on his talkativeness adds an extra fun touch to the search for rides. If you like to chat, you can search for a driver who also likes to chat.

But the most interactive service is Uber, because it uses an app that can be used worldwide. This way you can see where the nearest driver is at any given time. Moreover, the rates are a lot lower than if you were to do the same ride with a regular taxi.


Want to respond to the above article? Post your comment below!

 

Leave a comment





Related Posts

Until what age do you need a car seat?

Until what age do you need a car seat?

It is extremely important for the safety of your child that you transport him or her in the correct manner…

Read more "

top up oil

How many liters of oil does your car use?

How many liters of oil does a car hold? This is a question many drivers ask themselves, especially when…

Read more "

fill out damage form

Tips for completing a damage claim form after an accident

If you have an accident, you want to be reimbursed for the damage caused by your car insurance, especially if it is your fault…

Read more "