Auto News 5

Photo: Zimride

The Zimride company is about to launch a smartphone app called Lyft, aimed at facilitating carpooling.

Only available at the moment upon invitation (and in the San Francisco area), Lyft enables people to find potential carpoolers, located in the same area and going in the same direction. Once the lift is "booked", the device allows the user to track his fellow traveller to know whether or not he's on his way.

Payment methods disregard cash. The system works instead on a donation arrangement, available with the app, that Zimride claims cost 30% less than a taxi. The only problem is people are, rightly so, not enthusiastic at the idea of embarking aboard an unknown car driven by a stranger.

To solve the problem, Zimride says it will perform thorough background checks on drivers upon their acceptance in the system.

The Lyft app only works on evenings so far, but a 24/7 solution is in the making.


_{Source: GigaOM}