It’s the season for family reunions and long trips back home. This Chinese New Year, you can make your drive a little more exciting and green by carpooling using Tripda, the carpooling app. Hordes of travellers will be making their way out of the Klang Valley this weekend and if you’re one of those people, you can use this ingenious app to offer a ride to someone who is going your way.
Or, if you don’t drive and you don’t want to take the bus, you can look for a ride on Tripda from someone who’ll be driving to the same place you want to go.
I’m sure we can all agree that car-pooling is not only cheaper, but it’s definitely an eco-friendly option as well. Also, it would ease traffic congestion which is usually horrendous during the festive seasons. Tripda is a fantastic way to meet new friends and make driving back home less of a chore; it would be great to have a karaoke buddy in the car with you, wouldn’t it?
Users can only register using their Facebook accounts, which allows Tripda to properly identify each member. Also, drivers have to identify the make and model of their cars and they can accept or deny any passengers. Tripda also constantly monitors comments and profiles to make sure that it’s as safe as possible for everyone involved.
Drivers are rated by their passengers, which means users can decide on whether or not to take a ride from someone depending on the feedback they have received. Payment is also simple; drivers specify the route and rate, and the passenger pays the driver in cash at the end of the ride.
Other options to watch out for are Uber and Grab, both with their own carpooling services – UberPool and GrabHitch. Both these services involve the passengers opting to share their ride with another passenger and split the fare between them, kind of like sharing a taxi, but they are not available in Malaysia – yet.
Update: According to Tech in Asia, German start-up factory, Rocket Internet, is shutting down Tripda sometime this week. The reason behind this shut down, according to Tech in Asia’s source, is the failure to secure funding for Tripda. This will result in about 100 employees either being laid off or moved to other Rocket Internet ventures.
You can read more about the Tripda shut down here.
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