This Site Proposes an idea: Wireless-Enabled, Trusted Ridesharing Service (April 2008)
Many WiFi Ridesharing operations in place and start up
Many working Ridesharing Services on the web today
iThumb / WiRide - Proposal and Prediction
Hitchhiking via cell phone !
Trusted ridesharing. Save fuel, share ride, get there fast
- Fill your car with trusted passengers, accept rides from trusted drivers
- No matter where you are going, find a known travel companion.
- Optimize transportation using your web wireless device
Real-time, trusted ridesharing using GPS/WiFi location tracking is starting to happen. The wireless rideshare services in place today can adopt a standard service that would be interoperational among wireless providers. Government agencies, large companies are starting to actively support ridesharing. The friends tracking among Google Latitude friends is easy. Although the system stores only recent locations, the next step for ridesharing is to plot the route, paths and pick-up points and offer them automatically to trusted riders, all in real time. Then it must scale to larger populations.
Available now for selected phones, and you can track on your computer.
Get an Android powered phone, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile 5.0, Nokia smartphone, and soon the IPhone and iPod touch devices. This is one of the crucial product breakthroughs for ridesharing
"Saving civilization means cutting transportation energy, halting C02; everyone will have to double up, fill up cars - for even the shortest trips - we should use technology to the fullest." - R Pauli
Coming soon; drivers offering rides first must download the app, record their preferred route.
“You put the iPhone on the dashboard, and it records the entire trip and sends the route to our network,” The system stores the route, paths and pick-up points and offers them automatically to interested riders.
Dec 2008 New Jersey Car pools with three people are now eligible for a $150 gas card and car pools of four or more are eligible for a $200 gas card. Car pools of two workers will remain eligible for a $100 gas card, which has been the deal for carpoolers since the federally funded program started in May 2006.
A group must carpool together at least 24 days in a two-month period, and carpoolers must submit their carpool log within 120 days of registration to be eligible.
Ontario, Canada has a free program called PickupPal - a fairly new operation close to an optimal system. One new operation KoolPool - in Mumbai, India uses cell phone text messages. Similar ridesharing systems use the Internet - some are informal, some sanctioned. Northern Virginia commuters use the Internet and Washington, D.C. has an informal passenger pickup for HOV commuters - complete with informal rules. Many big cities and Washington State and Idaho have carpool registration sites. For another clever use of similar technology see Trapster where mobile GPS/WiFi is used to detect and report speed trap locations.
*** Note: This proposal is based on the Stephen Raney 2006 patent for a "Method for GPS carpool rendezvous tracking and personal safety verification" ***
Proposed Domain monikers: WiRide.com & iThumb.org For Pedestrians: Use Your wireless GPS/WiFi device to rideshare with a selected Driver on your route.
For Drivers: Use Your GPS/WiFi car based internet connection to rideshare with the closest passenger.
Requirements: a WiRide account, a GPS/WiFi location mode enabled wireless device - (And Web access with application)
- Register with WiRide or iThumb - trusted and secure required (photo, registration, fingerprint, etc)
- Logon and tell us where you are going or Where you want to go.
- See on your device a map of your route, a list of fellow travelers on your route and time that you can connect with them.
- You each select your ride / rider
- You each see a meet up location and time
- You each verify identities before connecting.
- Ride
- End ride and your transit is logged. Your government may wish to reward you for helping with transit.
Drivers - find a passenger. Choose from a list. Filter selections. ( any criterion )
Passengers - find a driver. Choose from a list Filter selections ( facebook, company, etc )
Map route, GPS or WiFi locater mode tracking and time are used to calculate your meeting spot.
Just Before you connect on the street:
Each of you gets the name and photo of your connection, their rating from others, and other introductory info. ( pictures, bio, facebook, etc )
If you want, you can call each other before you meet...
The driver has a picture of the passenger on his wireless device, the passenger has a picture of the driver on her phone or wireless device.
Most Important: The WiRide/iThumb service has a record of your meeting, your travel location as you move along (GPS and WiFi location service), and a complete list of your travel routes. This ensures safety. Privacy assured. [ when does it stop? user ends, or reaching the destination ends all tracking, message sent to each that trip done. Super privacy.. users can set level of security ] Based on security and trust
This must be trusted membership program - with verification by another entity. Every member must submit drivers license, new phote, maybe SSN, etc. This might be a confidential hosting perhaps by the State or other government. The trusted clearing office would compare and verify the member. Membership would check for criminal and driving record. Passenger membership should also have state verified registration. NOTE - driver and passenger only need verification on new membership application - each are verified by device application delivering photo to the device.
Legal note: membership should include the right to observe the photo of the donor or passenger. Other information will be private, but must be vetted by the ithumb data provider.
This absolutely must be able to rigidly exclude - or at least identify - all the whackos, predators, and riff-raff, etc.
Some ways this will fit into an economic ecosystem
Transportation must become VERY efficient.
Governments must offer more rewards or support to drivers for ridesharing
This service fits well with any form of monitization or trade. One could add a simple bid/offer front end, or Govt tax rebates offered to drivers and passengers, civic awards to top drivers, carbon tax rebates, or this can be used by social networks, or individual companies, or communities. Or run by a local NGO. ** Given the future of carbon fuel, the falling economy and increasing problems of commuting... this Should NOT be a fee based, Nor a subscription based service. And this really should not be advertiser supported, although some could make a case for it. And if the travel data is merged with the car population at any moment, then advertising could be targeted to the car.
A Brief Technical Outline
Both client hardware should be device independent, with Wireless Internet access, GPS/WiFi enabled location service, with generous display. Wide area wireless or cell phone requred.
WiRide/iThumb system actions:
- State DL office offers rideshare membership option check box for data shared w iThumb/WiRide
- Candidates are verified by DL office or other trusted verification service
- Rideshare site offers Registration page for newly verified users
- Rideshare WiRide/iThumb seeks records from State agency of verified members
- Secure connect State or Govt db for drivers license image & data - or other ID
- - Makes data match or photo match of record
- ? Should it offer temp registration to unverified passengers ??? issue
- Match OK with trusted data for drivers license image & data - or other ID
- WiRide / iThumb maintains database of registered users
- Passenger inputs preferred travel goals, time, route and destination requested
- Client GPS/WiFi current location input to a MAPping system - maps google etc.
- Registered Drivers input or recall route, destination and time of travel
- Once connected, ready for travel, all registered users will be location tracked
- Server merges map regions
- -- Location data from each ready member, GIS merged w map and user records
- WiRide / iThumb Server calcs intersection of rideshare clients - displays sectional map
- Send to Driver: list of passengers along the drivers route - only map section
- Iconic display on the driver's terminal each prospective passenger
- Send to Passenger: the list of area drivers on their route - only map section
- Iconic display to users device..each case will show the optimal choice )
- Passenger/Driver evaluates prospects ie check ID, face, history, location, time etc
- Tenders invitation message - negotiation transmissions -
- Each accept or rejects travel companions
- Passenger and Driver confirm via wifi device, both accept, exchange confirm
- Rideshare Server does the Tracking of the ride... GPS/WiFi of each .. (multiples permitted)
- Wireless trip progrss report sent to participants only
- When out of wireless service area, location data stored; catchup reported when service resumes
- Closing and confirming the ride - each inputs
- After ride gather ratings of driver; gather ratings of passenger
- End transit applicaton
- Delivering usage reports to individuals, or filtered to municipalities.
- Each member can call up history
USE CASE for Bob and Alice
Explaining typical uses by a driver and a pedestrian/passenger. Each has a location enabled Wireless device, with map and web page displayMore and Different USE cases
A few other ways to utilize this ridesharing softwareRude Uses, Legal Issues and Monitization schemes Other discussion
"Saving civilization means cutting transportation energy, halting C02, everyone will have to double up, fill up cars for even the shortest trip, and network like crazy." Richard Pauli
Idea assembled and placed in Google Documents Jan 10th 2008 by Richard Pauli
rpauli {at} Speakeasy.org
Please email me with your notions on this