Show HN: Work Carpools | Hacker News Reader

Show HN: Work Carpools

workcarpools.com

Carpooling works! but it is just one variable in the commute equation. Take my current route[1] in Southern CA where I just happen to have a co-worker live close to me. We drive together in her car for about 30 miles to work which starts with 20 minutes driving congested surface streets just to get on the freeway. We then need to transverse multiple lanes and freeways to get in the carpool lane which is also congested. About an hour later of stop and go traffic, we arrive at work. Due to different work and personal schedules, we may not leave work at the same time so she will leave with her car and I will take a lyft back home. That costs me $40 to $60 one-way and still involves waiting for the driver. Of course it doesn't help the freeways are under construction[2] but when completed, I'm hopeful things will improve.

[1] https://www.mapquest.com/directions/from/us/ca/90804/to/us/c...

[2] https://octa.net/Projects-and-Programs/Under-Construction/I-...

Yeah, this is a good point. What happens if you get stranded or something. I haven't figured that out. One solution might be to give you more suggestions of who lives nearby so that you could ask someone else if your ride falls through.

I actually have not solved the schedule problem either. Basically just telling you who passes who and let everyone figure it out. Maybe I'll add a quick schedule prompt or something for folks who work different hours (to filter on or something).

Thanks for the feedback.

Thanks for reviewing so quickly; this now reminds me of Waze's Carpool app[1] which includes scheduling. I tried to use it in addition to county carpool / vanpool[2] and Enterprise's service[3] but had no matches with riders who live in my area.

[1] https://www.waze.com/carpool/

[2] https://www.octa.net/Vanpool/Overview/

[3] https://www.commutewithenterprise.com/

Probably not super relevant outside of the Washington, DC area (although maybe other regions have it), but a multiple localities formed a general commuter support program and one of their benefits you can sign up for is up to 6 times per year a free "guaranteed ride home" if they regularly do not drive to work but have occasional times when they can't get home their normal method.[0]

0. https://www.commuterconnections.org/guaranteed-ride-home/

my company offers this incentive too. i think it's for anyone that bikes to work, or maybe carpools, but then for whatever reason can't get home. nice idea

Is this last minute pickup matching or would you need to arrange something the night before?

Didn't the early ridesharing apps start off in this and pivot to what Uber/Lyft are today? Why did they pivot away from this market?

I was about to make the same comment about Lyft — originally called Zimride. IIRC, they pivoted because it just wasn’t nearly as lucrative as car hailing.

Yeah, it's a good question. I suspect with corporate carpooling, sure there is tons of people commuting, however they are using a mix of their own cars, public transit, and carpooling. So it's sort of an unproven market to sell into at a large scale (vs taxi industry). I think there is an untapped need for people that want cheap/free rides with people they already know/trust (co-workers) to and from work. Well, that's the theory at least.

Zimride still seems to be a thing https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimride

Hey, been working on this for quite a while and looking for feedback.

It's meant for co-workers that are interested in carpooling together, to and from the office, where only people from the company can join. You can quickly discover who passes who on the way to work, and find carpooling suggestions. You'll see matches grouped into three buckets: people you pass, people that pass you, and people that live nearby. Hopefully there will be options for both drivers and riders. Also, as new people join you’ll get notified via email about new carpooling suggestions.

My main todo right now is marketing. Probably some demo videos and maybe a demo map on the website. It's sort of a problem since 80% of the cool stuff is hidden behind a signup. So, I'm hoping a demo video/demo map will move that public so people have incentive to try it out.

If you have any questions happy to answer or contact me at justin@workcarpools.com

It's a cool concept and much needed. I'd recommend reaching out to companies directly. Large companies will often have people in sustainability type roles who are actively looking for initiatives to support their CSR objectives. Most small companies won't have these roles, but you may have luck with ones which have a 'green' mission.

Not sure if you already do this - but I reckon a key selling point would be a monthly report which summarises the amount of miles, CO2 and other pollutants the business has eliminated as a result of their car pooling efforts. This makes the benefits tangible and easily communicated to stakeholders.

You could also offer a 1-2 month trial to businesses to get them to lower sign up friction. If you combined this with a good onboarding process and the reports mentioned above I think the churn rate would be relatively low.

I'd also modify the website to make it focused solely on explaining the concept and benefits to companies, or have a separate page for both companies and commuters that does this, as it's kind of confusing who you're targeting currently. It's companies that will ultimately make the decision to buy or not, so reckon you should focus on them.

Thank you. These are really good suggestions. Really like the calculator idea. I agree with you on the website target audience. I was thinking employee's would want to solve the problem and suggest it to their work. That's why things look the way they do now. But, I suspect you're right. Target the company directly vs the employees.

cool! i used to do this with colleagues at work. Would love something like this for events / meetups as well. I organize a lot of hikes and outdoor events in areas with bad service and no parking, so I've thought about how much I wish there was an easy way to set up a carpool (without me having to coordinate the logistics).

Yeah, it'll work for that. Right now I have it set so group of 35 or less are free. So, I'd check it out and see if it works for your need.

Seems like a strange thing to pay for, nice app tho.

Ah, yeah. This is meant for companies to pay, not individual people, then the company would roll this out as a carpooling initiative. So, companies would pay a small monthly fee. Maybe I should make that more clear. Thanks for the feedback.

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