PickupPal is a global car share service. It’s a shame, but I only learned about them when forced to choose the service by the All Points Festival (a 2-day rock concert to which I purchased tickets in order to see Radiohead perform). The eco-conscious planners forbade drivers from smogging their way over to Liberty State Park and clogging the parking lot – and inevitably, the street – by forcing each car-bound attendee to purchase carpool passes provided by PikcupPal.

As a New Yorker, the idea of hopping into a car with a total stranger didn’t appeal to me at first. But once I read through the PickupPal guidelines, I realized how simple and efficient the PickupPal process can be. And the passenger “feedback rating” makes it a little less sketchy (it’s like eBay ratings for carpooling).

Here are the steps from the PickupPal website:

Step 1
A Passenger tells us where they want to go.
Drivers tell us where they are going.
We match up Passengers with Drivers who are going the same way.

Step 2
We inform Drivers of potential pickups. They can make an offer to the Passenger based on how much they want to charge for a ride and the Passenger’s feedback rating from other Drivers.

We inform the Passenger that Drivers have offered rides. The Passenger reviews the offers and chooses the driver with whom they want to ride based on price and Driver rating.

When a Passenger accepts a Driver’s offer, we contact the Driver and issue them both a “ticket to ride” with all the necessary information.

Step 3
Passenger pays the Driver the agreed amount in cash (or otherwise, if agreed upon) at the end of the ride.
The Driver keeps the cash.

Step 4
After the ride, we ask the Passenger and the Driver to provide feedback on each other and their PickupPal experience.
We update the Passenger’s and the Driver’s profile.

Log-on, hop in and reduce your carbon footprint.

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Filed under: Eco Travel, Green Living, Sustainable Cities, Transportation & Alternative Fuels