carpooling app

A free app for passengers waiting for a ride and car owners willing to share a ride. Similar to the discontinued Waze Carpool feature in concept, but more practical, usable and easy to understand in our context. Traffic is terrible. On top of that, waiting times and the chaos in hailing a ride is not getting any better. Meanwhile, you see a lot of private vehicles passing by causing the traffic, but with only one passenger, the driver. The rest of the seats are empty. Oftentimes, as a car owner, I wonder if there are people that would be willing to hitch a ride with me as I go to work. But the thing is, I don't know where most of them are heading and if it is safe to offer a ride to strangers even if they are in the same community I live in. As a commuter in my younger years, it was a blessing if someone offered their ride to me on our way to school. Gone are those days. If only we can revive such a good, safe and out-of-the-goodness-of-the-heart practice called carpooling. I imagine a map-based app like google maps or waze, you open it and asks you two questions: are you the one offering a ride or the passenger looking for a ride? And second, where are you going/dropping off? The app will then map-out a course for your trip like google maps/waze. If you are the one offering the transportation, it will show you nearby passengers who are currently going towards your same route or destination. You can refine the search criteria based on a template or your settings, i.e., number of pax, if additional cargo is allowed, if kids are allowed, if pick-up point is strictly from start location, or anywhere along the route, or anywhere near the route, or even anywhere in the general area, or only passengers with the same destination, or with destinations along the route, or anywhere near the route or anywhere near an area. If you are the passenger hoping for a ride, you also indicate your destination and a route will automatically show. There are also a settings for how many passengers you are, if you have cargo, You can see how many app users are also going in the same direction and how many cars are going in the same direction, but you cannot hail the cars or identify them. You will have to wait in the app for some car to offer you a ride, read their offer and conditions, review their reputation in the app and communicate with them in-app for the arrangements. Once you reach an agreement, where to pick you up, where to drop you off, and of course, agreeing to the terms and conditions of the app (like no contraband, no malicious activity, understanding the risk and responsibilities of each party and the app, etc.) you're set to go. After reaching your destinations, the car owner will fill up a form as feedback for the passenger's profile, and the experience. Likewise, the passenger will also fill up a similar form as feedback for the one who offered the ride. Ratings will only show after dozens of times using the app. It will also serve as a safety feature for the car owners and the passengers, since transactions are recorded by the system. Carpooling should be free. But if the passenger offers a reward, it is outside of the knowledge of the app. If the car owner demands a fee, it should be stated in their communication with their passenger. The app will not be held liable for its misuse.