In light of the slew of apps that attempt to make the
local transport system more efficient, one form of transportation
remains arguably underlooked in this part of the world:
carpooling.
It is, in a way, understandable why carpooling itself is not as
common in Asia than it is in the West- in a conservative Asian
culture like ours, safety concerns hails above all else, including
convenience, comfort, companionship and even cash.
And start up firm Tripda is hoping to change just that.
Launched late last year, Tripda is an online carpooling
service that is now active in 12 countries (Brazil,
Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Malaysia, Singapore,
Taiwan, Philippines, and most recently in US and India) with Brazil
being the first country it launched, in May 2014. The concept is
simple: the platform enables drivers with spare seats in their
cars to offer rides to passengers going the same way. The
passengers get a relatively cheaper trip, while drivers get to make
a quick buck for something they were already doing anyway. The
service Tripda provides is free.
Tripda is proud of the benefits of its service, one that
they believe is social, economical, environmentally-friendly,
secure, and convenient. And they aren’t the only ones who believe
in the value of their service. The start up is backed by venture
accelerator firm Rocket Internet, the same guys who brought
you ecommerce giants Lazada and Zalora.
We spoke to Tripda’s co-founder and CEO (Emerging
Markets), Pedro Meduna, to find out a little more about
the next transport venture you should keep your eyes peeled
for.
Tripda came about when Meduna and fellow co-founder Eduardo
Prota shared the same problem of living in the country and having
to go to the city to work, and had to rely on friends or
acquaintances travelling the same way. The idea further developed
during Meduna’s trip to Europe, where carpooling was a common form
of transport.
The co-founders then lived in US for awhile, and noticed the
potential of the ‘sharing economy’ there, and came up with the idea
of exporting the idea of carpooling to different parts of the world
where sharing a vehicle with complete strangers is far less common.
They met Rocket Internet, who shared their vision of exporting
the idea of carpooling overseas. The rest was history.
Tripda’s main function is to connect people looking for a ride
with drivers who have empty seats in their cars. The service is
available via their website and as a mobile app
on
Android and iOS.
The platforms are relatively easy to navigate: users first
create an account by linking their Facebook account to the service.
Passengers can immediately browse for trips by keying in their
pick up location, destination and date of trip.
Drivers, on the other hand, would have to register their ride
by providing the company with an optional photo, its brand, model,
level of comfort, colour, and number of passenger seats
available, among other information. They may also toggle option to
allow for example, smoking, pets, music and even if they would like
to engage in a conversation during the ride.
Meduna believes that the company’s philosophy of “think global,
act local” is the key to their rapid expansion.
“Every time we expand to another country, we look for a small
team of great local talent to build Tripda and grow the carpooling
culture there,” said Meduna, “This gives us a strong
understanding of each market and their nuances – be it in culture,
lifestyle, demographics or key routes. Our on-the-ground presence
makes it easier to engage with users at every level and listen to
their feedback in order to improve our product.”
Indeed, Tripda’s invasion into local carpooling Facebook groups
in Singapore, for example, has already begun. In recent
months, ‘Campus Ambassadors’ (CA) from Tripda’s ‘Campus
Ambassador Program’ have put up notices such as the one below
in NUS Carpooling groups. This program intends to further localise
and integrate the service into the Singaporean community.
“Each university’s Campus Ambassador acts as a focal point to
engage fellow students and nurture in them the carpooling culture
using Tripda as a convenient, safe, fun and economical means of
travel,” said Meduna. They currently have CAs in NUS and the
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, with plans to expand
this program into other universities in the region. Tripda is
also looking into partnerships with companies, NGOs, and event
organisers.
Also Read: LTA
Spokesman On [email protected] App: “We Might Link It To Third-Party
Apps.”
With all this said, we were still concerned about the safety of
using the platform for rides with complete strangers. Meduna is
however confident of the safety of the platform, and is encouraged
by the positive feedback he has received from Singaporeans,
especially from the younger population.
“Tripda is built on the principles of safety and trust,” said
Meduna, “We encourage community ratings and reviews by travelers
who have taken rides together. The platform verifies drivers and
passengers in multiple ways and runs checks to ensure their privacy
and security. We want to give our users every information necessary
to help them pick the perfect carpool buddy.” Read more about their
security policy here.
Meduna is similarly heartened by the response Tripda has
received from its Malaysian users.
“Malaysia was the first Asian launch for us. There is definitely
a high demand for our service among students and people commuting
for work. What made Malaysia the right market was its very
established roads and highway network, and high population of cars.
Furthermore, Internet penetration and Facebook adoption is high in
Malaysia which is crucial as users require a Facebook account to
login to Tripda.”
In addition, Meduna believes that the rising costs of owning a
private vehicle in Singapore and Malaysia is a huge incentive to
jump on the carpooling bandwagon. Their greatest challenge
right now, he believes, is to convince people to give it a go.
Being the environmentally-aware budget hunters we are, we
were all for the concept of splitting costs for a journey with
the additional bonus of it being for a good cause.
While we understand that the app was initially intended for
long-distance travel, the main gripe we had for the the app was
that Singapore is too small an island to travel between cities. As
a result, all searches became arbitrary in that it would
always churn out results “from Singapore to Singapore”. The results
may vary for app users in Malaysia, given its much larger size.
This little bug might however be the least of its worries for
now.
Safety concerns still remain an issue for us, especially with
newly registered drivers with little or no reviews. We were also
uncertain of the degree by which Tripda would be able to scan
drivers, especially on more intangible aspects like character and
credibility, given that they are not liable to larger organisations
(like cab drivers are). It would help to make stringent scanning
processes more transparent to potential passengers.
As a result, their marketing strategies might have to be more
finely tuned to the Asian consumer in these aspects, I would
daresay, before they will be able to gain considerable
traction.
That being said, Tripda provides an intuitive, hassle-free
platform for people to hitch a ride and make new friends along the
way. It is certainly a platform I wouldn’t mind trying out
once in gains traction in Singapore.
But only if I have a friend with me.
Also Read: Solving
Manila’s Traffic Problem With Carpooling App
Tripid
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Aside Taxi Booking Apps, Carpooling App Tripda May Be Here To
Stay appeared first on Vulcan Post.